Blackfire
by randomcat23
Summary: COMPLETE When Irvine and Moonbay are sent on a mission to round up a few bandits, nobody thinks much of it. But when a rouge Zoid appears and threatens the area, the small bandit mission turns into a much larger task. IM and some VF
1. Default Chapter

Alright, this is my first Zoid fic...please let me know what you think.

Disclaimer: I don't own Zoids. Duh.

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The sun rose over the horizon and raced along the desert land. Its rays swept the shadows of night away and replaced them with light. The beams soon came over a large building, standing all alone in the barren land. They slid up the sides and into the window of the Lighting Saix pilot.

"Oh damn it," he muttered as he pulled the covers over his head. "I thought I might sleep in today." He grumbled a few more curses as his alarm clock went off. He immediately shut it off and yelled. "Someone please tell me why I set that blasted thing anyway?" The pilot crawled out of bed and pulled on his clothes, half asleep.

A knock came from the door. "Irvine, don't tell me you forgot? Doctor Dee's waiting for us remember?" Irvine grumbled again, he had not expected anyone to reply to his outburst.

"Thanks mom," he said sarcastically, "Don't remember telling anyone to answer, Moonbay."

She laughed and leaned against the door. "I know you too well, if I didn't tell you, you would pretend you didn't hear and go back to bed."

Irvine smiled, "That was the general plan."

"Sure, Irvine, sure. Come on, they got breakfast for us and coffee." The transporter girl walked down the hall and into the meeting room where everyone else was waiting. Van sat on the old couch, his head down and hair messed up. Fiona smiled as Moonbay took a seat next to her and poured some coffee. "I had to get Mr. Charming over there to get his butt out of bed," Moonbay said as she took a sip and Irvine walked in.

He scratched the back of his head as he poured himself a cup, black of course, and sat in the last remaining seat. Not a moment later, Doctor Dee walked in with a smile on his face and some papers in his hand. "Morning pilots."

"Morning," answered the two girls.

"Morn...," was all Irvine managed to say and all they got out of Van was "Mumem".

Dr. Dee looked at them and laughed. "Ok guys we got some new missions for you," as he waved the papers in hand. "But we got two and they're both important so you'll be splitting up into two groups." He eyed the sad-looking bunch. Irvine looked up and nodded. Moonbay and Fiona waited for extra instructions.

"Well," Dr. Dee continued as he pointed to Van, "You, Van, will be going to the Empire and Republic meeting this week. They asked for you so you're going." He shrugged. "Fiona, you go with him. As for you two," he turned to Moonbay and Irvine, "You guys will head out to a village called Blackfire and chase down some bandits that have been destroying the village and the crops out there."

Irvine sighed, "That's the best we can do? I almost preferred it when we were chasing down Raven...this is rookie stuff."

Doctor Dee shrugged again, "Don't look at me," he closed his eyes, looking thoughtful, "We're lucky with these jobs, and you should be happy nothing to chaotic is going on." "The only thing chaotic out here is the fight for the coffee in the morning," mumbled Irvine.

"Oh yeah I almost forgot...Moonbay, your friend Vicky is posted out in Blackfire. If that helps the cause anyway," added Doctor Dee.

Moonbay looked up and smiled. "Really? I haven't seen her in years! Come on Irvine let's get going!" Moonbay placed her hands on her hips and smiled.

"Glad someone's happy." Irvine stated before sipping his coffee.

Dr. Dee laughed. "You should be back soon after this mission, Irvine, then you can sleep all you want. These bandits shouldn't be too hard," he continued looking down at the papers, eyeing them thoughtfully. "According to these," he waved the papers around again, "There are only three groups of bandits, not too bad I suppose. Alright, you're all dismissed."

Fiona walked quietly down the hall next to Van. "Van, are you not going to pack?" Van opened one eye, "Yeah, I suppose." Fiona giggled but then asked a different question. She looked ahead, "Van do you think Moonbay and Irvine will be alright?"

"What do you mean by that? They've been friends forever...what's the problem?"

Fiona shook her head. "Never mind, it's nothing."

"Oh your thinking that maybe...they'll get to together?"

Fiona laughed, "Yeah, maybe they will, it's really obvious."

Van closed his eyes and crossed his arms, "It would be about time. Come on let's go pack for this pointless meeting," sighed Van.

Meanwhile, Moonbay was having similar thoughts.

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First chappie's done! Please review! Any suggestions would be great!-randomcat23


	2. Journey's Beginings

Second chapter! Hope you enjoy!

hanyouwolf: Thankies!

IrvineSano: Thanks! Hope this chapter is better in length!

Disclaimer: I said it once and here it is again...I DON'T OWN ZOIDS!

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Moonbay walked down the hall with her hands behind her back, thinking. For the first time in years it would just be her and Irvine. Was it at all possible for her to make him love her? She sighed. Did he ever think about her more than a close friend? She wasn't sure what it was about him. Maybe his badass self with the inner softy. Whatever it was she had fallen for her best friend. Perhaps it would be better to let him say it on his own. Moonbay knew better than to pressure Irvine.

She turned to other thoughts. Seeing Vicky sure did increase her wanted to go on this mission. It would be great to she her old childhood friend again. But a few things puzzled her.

Vicky, Moonbay knew for a fact, was a lieutenant in the Republican army. She was really skilled with her Zoids, and had plenty of them. Why in the world did Dr. Dee need them out in the middle of nowhere fighting when Vicky was completely capable? And another thing disturbed Moonbay. Why did the Guardian Force worry so much about a bunch for bandits ruining some crops? The matter was puzzling.

Moonbay stepped into her room and grabbed a backpack. She began stuffing it full of clothes and necessary things for the trip. She was so wrapped up in her current thoughts and packing that she didn't realize it when Irvine came to the door. He knocked, waiting for a reply. Moonbay jumped. "Irvine! You scared me! Idiot!"

He smirked and waved some papers in front of her.

"What are those?"

"Information on the three bandit groups." Irvine shrugged. "Nothing I can't handle."

Moonbay's eyes widened. "You can't handle? Hey, we're in this together." Moonbay placed her hands on her hips. "You're not doing this alone."

"Yeah, yeah, I know." He smirked again and pointed to the papers. "Seems the leader group consists of Red Horns and Hel Gunners. If we can get them..," his finger trailed to the other bandits' names, "these losers will fall apart." He glanced at her bag while Moonbay looked thoughtfully over the information and a map of the area. "You packed yet? I wanna go as soon as possible." He yawned, "So I can sleep in your Gustav's backseat."

"Irvine! Is that all my Gustav's good for?"

"Possibly."

She hit him with the papers. "Jerk, and just so you know, it will take about a day to get to Blackfire. Why don't we take your Lighting Saix?" She paused, "I'm sure I could borrow one of Vicky's Zoids. It would be so much quicker. How bout it?"

"How about not?" he answered. "And before you argue, one, we can't use my Saix because the Saix is rare and it would look like we were up to something and we don't want that and two, I'm tired and you can't pilot Saix so tough luck." He smirked again.

Moonbay frowned and whacked him again with the papers. "If your going to be like that...OUT!"

Irvine threw his hands up in defense and walked backwards out the door laughing. Once he turned the corner, Moonbay let out a sigh, "Asshole." A few minutes later, Moonbay swung her backpack over her shoulder and walked into Dr. Dee's office.

Irvine was sitting there, head back looking at the ceiling. Moonbay went over and was about to smack him when he looked up and said, "You're way to slow Moonbay, I've been waiting here forever."

Van walked in laughing, "You're sad Irvine, get used to waiting for girls," he pointed over his shoulder; "Fiona here sits and stares at the mirror for hours!"

"Feh, I wait for no one," Irvine grumbled.

"I heard that comment Van! And for your information I've only been looking at the mirror for five minutes!" Fiona walked in and grabbed Van by the arm, "Let's go Mr. Impatient." She smiled. He planted a quick kiss on her lips and they walked out of the room. "Good luck you guys!" Moonbay shouted.

Fiona popped her head back in and looked at the two. "Good luck to you as well! Irvine, enjoy your sleep in the Gustav!"

"Believe me I will. By the time the Gustav gets to that place, I would have slept enough for both Moonbay and me!"

Fiona laughed as Van yelled, "Fiona! We're going to be late!" She ran down the hall and caught up to him. "Think they'll let the cat out of the bag?"

"Hopefully," Van sighed, "I hate it when they flirt!"

* * *

Moonbay sighed, "They make a cute couple, don't you think Irvine?"

"Sure. They only flirted with each other for years."

"You're impossible. Shall we start going so you can get your beauty sleep, Irvine?"

"Like I need it," he grumbled. "That's the last time I'll wake up that early!"

Moonbay and him walked outside, where the Gustav and Saix where already to go. The sun beat down on the Zoids, casting shadows over the ground. "If these bandits give us any problems...I'm losing my touch." Irvine climbed into the back seat. "Moonbay do me a favor and don't sing."

"Sure, whatever the king wants." She pulled out from the army base and headed across the desert plain. Irvine fell asleep within minutes and Moonbay stared at him for a while. And in her mind she added, "_No_ _problem, Irvine_."

* * *

Van and Fiona arrived at the World meeting building and quickly jumped out from the Blade Ligar. "This better be important, coming all the way out here for some stupid meeting."

"Oh come on Van, you should know this is what you get for being a star pilot in the guardian force." They passed through security and walked down the long hallway toward the Guardian Force room. Sitting down quickly and waving to a few officers, Van wondered what this was all about. He observed the pilots faces and to his surprise fear was written all over them. The kind of fear he had not seen since the Deathsaur was revived. His eyes narrowed. Was this more than a yearly meeting?

The door to the room slammed open. Van looked up only to see Captain Herman walk in and salute the officers. They all returned the salute, and Van noticed the fear increase as he lifted some papers from behind him. "Morning officers and pilots alike!" Herman's commanding voice echoed through the room.

"Sir!"

Herman continued, "We have an interesting situation here. Two weeks ago, a new fiend showed up not too far from our base around Blackfire. The Zoid, which was unrecognizable at the time, has been identified."

Van tried to pull the new information together._ "Blackfire? That's where Irvine and Moonbay were going! How come this information was hidden from me?_" Herman stepped aside and let a figure come forward. Van's eyes widened in shock. In front of him stood Raven, beaten and bruised. His clothes were torn and face was grim. Van's former rival looked like he could just drop dead. Shadow stood behind him, looking like a truck ran over him.

Herman paused and looked around the room and studied faces. "The Zoid that had and still is terrorizing the area is Raven's Geno Breaker."

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Ohh! What now? Ok guys, as always please review! And also as always suggestions are welcome because currently, I'm still new at this! Thanks!

randomcat23


	3. More Questions and Less Answers

Chapter three guys! Yeah! Anyway...I thank anyone who reviewed...or even read! Thanks guys!

Vi3t BaBiI-Glad you likie!

Midnight Blue Star: Here's your chappie! Hope you like!

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The Gustav rolled over the desert land, the only moving object for miles. It was well past noon, according to the sun, and the moons had finally set. Moonbay sighed. Irvine had fallen asleep soon after they had left the base and she was getting pretty bored. She turned and looked at him. He slept peacefully with his hands behind his head. Moonbay turned to other thoughts. The mission now completely filled her mind. She still hadn't told Irvine her thoughts. But, honestly, why does the army care so much for bandits?

Moonbay wiped her forehead. The sun beat down on the ground, making it humid and hazy. _"This is so boring! I can't even talk to Irvine cause the idiot decided to_ _fall asleep on me! And I can't let all this worrying out on him!" _Moonbay let out another loud sigh and cursed the hot weather.

"What's your problem, Moonbay?"

She jumped. "Irvine! I thought you were sleeping! Thought I would get some peace and quiet around here too." She turned to look at him.

Irvine sat there rubbing his eyes and looked at her. "From what I heard...which wasn't more than a sigh and a curse...you're not happy."

Moonbay turned away. "It's just that...hold on! Since when are you a light sleeper? Or even care about my thoughts?"

Irvine shook his head. "I've always been a light sleeper. Only for the reason that I was hunted and chased by people, years before I met Van. If I wanted to sleep, I always slept with one eye open...if you catch my drift. One little noise and I was on my feet, gun or knife in hand." He sighed.

"You never told me that," Moonbay pouted. "You never asked nor needed to know," he replied. "Now what the hell is bugging you?"

At that moment the Gustav's radar started going off and Moonbay turned to look at it. "What ever this is, it's really fast." She studied it as Irvine climbed into the front seat.

"Faster than my Saix?" he asked with no curiosity.

"Nah, but close enough." Moonbay's eyes narrowed. "If the object, whatever it is stays on course...It's headed right for us!"

Irvine's eyes widened, "Open the cockpit I'm getting in the Saix..." Before he could finish his thought the Gustav was hit head on. The force of the impact caused Moonbay to be tossed against the Gustav's side. She awaited the impact of the hard metal on her head...but it never came. Her head landed on Irvine's arm. She turned to him seeing his face twisted in pain as his head hit the metal interior.

Another hit was made from the opposite side. The large object let out a roar and Moonbay turned to try to identify the attacker. All she saw was a blaze of red and the creature was gone.

"What the hell was that?" Irvine opened the cockpit and jumped outside to look at the damage.

Moonbay saw him rub the back of his head, where he had wacked it against the metal side. _"He could have saved himself the pain, if he hadn't stopped my head. Or did he really save me the pain on purpose or by accident?"_

"Damn it all!" Moonbay heard Irvine mutter and scream a few more curses.

"How bad is the damage Irvine?" She walked around to where he was standing. Her mouth fell open. The armor of the Gustav had two large slashes and the trailers were disconnected. The other side was in the same shape, the whole armor basically in pieces. "Damn, hey Irvine what do you think could have done this?" She walked over to the other side again and for the first time realized that the Lighting Saix was on its side with its own share of slashes and scrapes.

Irvine made no reply. He ventured to the Lighting Saix and ran his hands over it, looking for more damage. His eyes narrowed. "I swear these look like the Geno Breaker's claw marks."

Moonbay walked over. "Come on Irvine, why would Raven want to attack us in the first place?"

Irvine walked around the Saix. "Maybe he wants me to beat up his sorry ass."

Moonbay rolled her eyes. "I got a look at the Zoid. It was definatly red, but you forget that the bandits had Red Horns too. It might of well have been the bandits."

"Moonbay, Red Horns don't make these kind of slash marks and aren't fast enough to get away like that."

She put her hands on her hips. "Well, it Red Horns make more sense then Raven going crazy." Irvine made no reply once again. The two continued to examine the Zoids.

"Moonbay, do you think you could fix the Saix up enough for me to get it back on the trailers?"

"Yeah, I suppose, as long as when I fix it up, you help turn over the trailers with the Lighting Saix."

"Done deal."

* * *

Murmurs went around the room as Raven sat down hesitantly. Van could not believe it. Raven's own Zoid turned and attacked him. Van glanced at Fiona. Her face was covered in worry and suspicion. The Blade Liger pilot turned and looked around the rest of the room. The fear had definitely increased in the soldiers eyes. A Zoid without a pilot was something to worry about. At least with a pilot, a Zoid had a weakness: human error. But without that, what would the out come of battle be?

Herman was the one to break the silence. "Raven here is going to explain to us what happened and hopefully we can make a plan of action." All eyes fell on Raven, who seemed lost in his own thoughts, said nothing. He had his elbows propped up on the table and his head was leaning against his hands. Glances were sent around the room. Van himself was beginning to lose patients. What seemed like forever, finally past and Raven lifted his head with a grim look on his face.

"Ok," he started, "I'm only telling you what I know and how it happened, from my point of view." He glanced around the room. "I'm doing this against my will, but...," he stopped again.

Van was fed up. "Damn it Raven! You are not the only one who has lost a battle or something that is important! Tell us what you know so you can go and we can get on with our own lives." Shocked looks were shot at Van. Herman raised his eyebrows and then looked at Raven.

"You weren't there Van! It was like some outside force had taken over my Geno Breaker. I had no control. I couldn't even eject myself. It thrashed me like a rag doll and then when it got completely violent, it ejected me itself and then tried to crush me!"

Silence again. No one dared move or talk. "Shadow rescued me and then tried to fuse with it...unsuccessfully. Then the Geno Breaker stepped on Shadow. I collapsed and before you know it, I'm found by some army officials.

No one pressed questions so Herman decided to do it himself. "Can you think of anything that could have caused this? The area you were in, past people you had met, mechanics..."

Raven interrupted, "Two days ago I had stopped at a mechanic shop for repairs. I let them keep the Geno Breaker for the night. Few repairs were needed. I also wanted ammunition. If those mechanics did anything...," he trailed off. "I was not aware of anything till the next day when it all came crashing down."

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Yet another chapter! Well, what do you guys think? As always, I'm open to suggestions! Please review!

randomcat23


	4. Blackfire City and a Legend

**September 12, 2008**

Well, howdy guys.

If some of you read this chapter and wonder why the heck it's nothing like it originally was (or doesn't match up quite as well), that is because I made a mistake, a big mistake that I'll probably forever be angry about.

I was editing and fixing the chapters of Blackfire and accidentally deleted chapter 4. This is a rewrite of it from what I can remember. I wanted to do this so that I could keep the story posted.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Zoids.

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The city of Blackfire appeared on the horizon, a dark contrast to the yellow sand. Most buildings were small, no more than three stories high; one structure however stood out from the rest, the Zoid Hanger. It housed the locals' Zoids as well as extra Republican Army Zoids; their base wasn't too far from town.

As soon as the Gustav rolled into the town, Moonbay let out a breath of relief. Maybe here they could get answers for the weird attack on them in the desert. The damage was severe and there weren't many Zoids that could have caused it, but Moonbay was sticking by her Red Horn explanation. Bandits were the root of the mission here, weren't they?

There was a small house next to the hanger and Moonbay remembered vaguely that Vicky lived in it. It had been such a long time since she had seen her friend and her happiness overcame the shock of the attack for a moment. Moonbay stopped the Zoid and tapped Irvine, "We're here."

"Finally, now we can get some answers," Irvine huffed and exited the cockpit.

Moonbay followed. For a second she was stunned by Irvine's attitude, but she reminded herself that the mission came first, not the visiting. Although the sun was beginning to set, the air was still hot. The Gustav's cockpit had been stuffy, so the open air was a welcomed change. But that didn't stop Moonbay from wishing for lower temperatures.

The two pilots stomped up the steps and Moonbay reached out and knocked on the door. "I hope she's home," Moonbay frowned. The door fell open at the touch of her hand. "I guess small towns don't worry about robbery that often," the transporter pushed through the doorway and came into the house, Irvine following. "Anybody home? Vicky?"

There was no answer. Moonbay glanced around at the house as she made her way to the kitchen. The walls were sparsely decorated. The bookshelf was filled with old mechanical magazines. Plates filled the sink and papers covered the kitchen table; most were blueprints for Zoid parts. There was also a parts catalog. And posted on the very top of the pile was a simple, pink sticky note that read: "I'm in the hanger, come on over."

Moonbay picked it up and showed it to Irvine. He read it quickly and asked, "Does she expect people to pick out one, small sticky note?"

"Well, it is pink," Moonbay shrugged. "It was probably left specifically for us." She set it down, took one last glance around the kitchen and then said, "Let's head to the hanger then."

Outside the sun was low in the sky. People were beginning to return home from work. Apparently, Vicky didn't end work when others did. Music blared from the large opened doors of the hanger. Moonbay peeked inside and found her friend.

Vicky's blonde hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail to keep it out of the grease. Her pants were smudged with oil and other mechanical grime. The large Zoid she worked on was a Command Wolf, white and gleaming. Moonbay yelled Vicky's name but received no reply; the music was just too loud.

Irvine watched as Moonbay walked over to the stereo system and pulled the plug with a strong yank. The driving beats and heavy guitar were replaced with silence and then, "Hey! Who cut the music?"

"You always did play it too loudly," Moonbay chided and walked back into sight.

Vicky's eyes lit up as she smiled, "Moonbay! It's been too long!"

Moonbay gave her friend a quick hug. "I know. I'm just sad that it's something like this that brings us back together." A cough came from the background, causing Moonbay to jump. "Sorry, Irvine. Vicky, this is Irvine. Irvine, Vicky."

"Nice to meet ya," Vicky shook the mercenary's hand. "I'm guessing you guys are hungry," the blonde commented as she put away her tools.

Moonbay and Irvine traded a glance. "We sure are," They said in unison.

Vicky grinned and said, "Well then, I'll fix you something right now."

"Good, we also need time to talk," Irvine started.

The memory of the attack reentered Moonbay's mind. "We were attacked in the desert," she said, following Vicky out of the hanger.

"You were what? By who?"

Moonbay was about to answer, but Irvine opened his mouth first, "We're not sure."

"Actually, we think it might be the bandits," Moonbay corrected.

Irvine rolled his eyes and sighed, "It wasn't them." His anger was disrupted by a loud growl from his stomach.

Vicky raised an eyebrow, frowning. "That is puzzling news. But, I think I better feed you first. I'll look at the damage after we calm that growling!"

* * *

Moonbay and Irvine sat around the kitchen table and watched as Vicky scurried across the room. The blonde refused help saying, "I'm your host, so I cook." In the mean time, as the smell of tasty chicken filled the room, Irvine filled Vicky in on more details about the attack. Moonbay added some of her own from time to time.

Soon, Vicky placed the food on the table and the three of them dug in. Little was said during dinner; they were all starving. Irvine glanced around the room in between mouthfuls and studied the pictures on the wall. One caught his eye. It was a painting of a huge Zoid with a glorious sunset. The big cat-like Zoid was unfamiliar to the mercenary; it was too big to be a Blade Liger and it defiantly wasn't a Shield Liger or Zaber Fang. There were three blades on the Zoid's head and two on each of its sides. Whatever it was looked powerful.

Irvine swallowed his current bit, pointed at the picture and asked, "What Zoid is that?"

Vicky followed his finger and said, "Oh, that's the legendary Panthra X-5."

"I've never heard of it," Moonbay said and studied the picture.

"It's more of a Blackfire thing, really," Vicky offered. "The story goes that a threat similar to the Death Saurer appeared in this area thousands of years ago. The Ancient Zoidians couldn't defeat it so they had to create a Zoid to match it in power. And the Zoid they made was the Panthra. It took five models to get it powerful enough to defeat the menace, so therefore the X-5 part."

"Interesting," Moonbay pondered, "Odd that no one else has said anything about that before."

Vicky shrugged, "Like I said, it's mostly a Blackfire thing. The Zoid was supposed to be torn apart and its pieces spread across Zi so that it couldn't be used in warfare again. As the legend goes, the Panthra requested this fate itself after seeing all the destruction. Its body is said to be buried underneath the city, but I haven't found any proof of that." She stopped and took a drink.

"To think it rivaled the Death Saurer is incredible," Moonbay said in awe.

"Yeah, I'm sure the army would have it under surveillance if there was any truth to the legend for that reason."

The three pilots turned to other subjects as they finished dinner.

* * *

"I couldn't do anything," Raven said quietly, his mind elsewhere. "The Geno Breaker didn't respond to any of my commands. When Shadow tried to fuse with its core, it rejected him and swatted him away like a fly." He paused, his face dark, "Then it tried to kill me."

All eyes were on Raven has he recalled the battle against his very own Zoid. The story was unbelievable and posed a very dangerous threat. The Geno Breaker was running lose with no pilot.

Raven spoke again, "When I awoke, I was in military care. I have no idea why it spared me."

Van stared at Raven intently, going over the facts in his head. He didn't even realize Herman had ended the meeting until the scrape of the chairs snapped him from his thoughts. Raven had disappeared too.

"Van, I'm sending you and Fiona to Blackfire," Herman ordered.

"What? Blackfire?"

"Of course, that's the closest city to where the Geno Breaker was last seen."

Van blinked in surprise, "That's where Moonbay and Irvine where sent."

"I wanted them there early to scout out the bandit problem. But now this," Herman sighed. "It must all be connected somehow."

Van nodded and said he would leave in the morning.

On the way back to their rooms, Fiona and Van discussed the latest news.

"What do you think this is all about, Van?" Fiona questioned.

"I have no idea. It's a lot more complicated than we thought, however." He let out a deep breath. "I'm worried about Irvine and Moonbay."

"Me too," Fiona agreed and reached out to take Van's hand. "We'll just have to get there fast and help them out as soon as we can!"

"My thoughts exactly!" Van grinned.

* * *

Rereading my old stuff is kinda fun, in an "I can't believe I wrote this" way. I'm still proud of this fic. Anyway, is this chapter my best work? No, but I wasn't about to take down Blackfire because I was careless one day.

Anyway, if you feel the need: review! I would love to hear what you think!-randomcat23


	5. Moonbay's Move

Ack! I haven't updated in weeks! I APOLOGIZE! My computer crashed and then I went on vacation, and then the idiot computer crashed again! So sorry! Chapters should now come quicker since I had tons of time to write and think them all up! And thanks again to all reviewers and I'm sorry this took so long! You guys keep me going!

hanyouwolf: Yay! A consistent reviewer! I thank you bunches and bunches!

Vi3t BaBiI: Thanks for the review and more romance to come!

IrvineSano: Thanks so much. Wow two reviews for one chapter, thankies so much.

n2tycd: Glad you're enjoying this!

A/N: Ok, I know and you know that Irvine has an eye patch/camera thing. Forgive me if I say eyes instead of eye. You'll also have to forgive me for any awful spelling...that's not one of my strong points.

Disclaimer: I don't own Zoids.

* * *

Irvine continued walking behind the two girls, pondering the legend of the Panthra X-5. _"A Zoid that powerful and smart would give anybody the command to control the world."_

His brief thoughts were cut short by Vicky saying: "Bed? Moonbay are you sure you don't want anything to eat?"

"Oh fine, we haven't eaten all day and besides the whole town is still awake!" The three of them walked into the kitchen and the girls started cooking something to eat, while talking loudly and telling each other of things that happened over the years.

"_Can't think at all when the two of them get together, I suppose."_ He folded this arms over his chest, trying to ignore Vicky and Moonbay. As the two giggling girls made dinner, Irvine sat quietly at the table and sighed at the noise. "_I guess Moonbay deserves it, the whole meeting up with Vicky anyway,"_ he observed quietly. _"She always got stuck up at the hangar when Van and I went into battle, and hell, Fiona was with Van half the time."_ His eye glanced aimlessly around the room. _"I haven't heard her laugh like that in a good while."_ His thoughts trailed in and out of current things till he noticed the time (11:30) and the noise outside had not yet stopped. Carts rolled across the road and voices yelled and bargained. Shipments were coming and going even with the hour as late as it was.

Irvine decided to break up the conversation which had gone from memories to current movies in minutes. "Hey Vicky, does this town ever shut up?"

Apparently she and Moonbay had forgotten about Irvine because they both looked surprised to see him. "Oh yeah, well, not entirely, but it usually stops by midnight." She stopped to check the clock. "This is one of the later nights this month, mostly because of the upcoming town picnic thing." Vicky flipped the chicken over in the pan as Moonbay tossed a salad. "You could go check everything out if ya wanted to. Dinner won't be ready for another half hour. Moonbay glanced at Irvine with a look telling him that she wanted to talk to Vicky alone, catch up with each other.

He nodded his head and stood saying, "Might as well, I can't hear myself think with all your chit chat."

Moonbay smiled. "Thanks Irvine."

He quietly stood up and walked out into the busy streets. Carts were pulled up and down the paths, and people paid Irvine no attention while he walked aimlessly down the surprisingly crowded streets. His eyes caught sight of little stores and quite a few houses, all with the lights still on. One shop made him stop for a second glance, a tiny store, hidden between a food market and clothes store. Simply named: Blackfire History. But it wasn't really the store itself that caught his eye, it was the large wooden engraving of the Panthra X-5 that was leaning against the shop's wall. "That thing seems to be everywhere." Irvine thought as the walked silently into the shop.

As he lifted the cloth flap over the door he was instantly hit with a wave of spice and flower scents. Wood carvings hung on the wall and leaned against the shelves which were covered in animal skulls and different Zoid artifacts. Irvine quietly walked up to the front desk and rang the little bell. His head turned for a moment toward the Panthra X-5 carving outside. "Wonder if the owner of this shop knows anything more about that thi-." his head turned back toward the desk and seated in the chair was an old woman. Her hair was tied tightly back in a bun and her face was worn. Her wrists were covered in many bracelets that hung low on her thin arms. The store owner wore a simple dress and had a scarf wrapped around her neck. In other words: Not what Irvine expected.

"What can I do for you lad?" she asked in a quiet, yet commanding voice. "My name is Miss Nami." She blinked her eyes and continued to stare at Irvine, who was about to explain his reason for coming when, Nami spoke suddenly. "You seem preoccupied by something." Her eyes narrowed.

"Um, sure, I was just wondering about the carving you had outside, the Panthra X-5?"

The old women's eyes widened a bit. "Ah, the carving, are you aware of the legend, young man?"

"Yes, a bit, I suppose, I wanted to know more about it." He recalled the legend to the store keeper as she nodded her head in agreement.

"Yes, yes, I see," she started. "But young Vicky has not told of the powers of the pieces, no?"

This caught Irvine's attention, "What? You mean that's not the whole legend?"

Nami smiled slightly. "Not many people know the whole truth of the powers of the Panthra X-5. It was not Vicky's fault for not telling."

"Well, tell me the rest," Irvine demanded, seeing that it had grown later and that he would have to be leaving.

"Very well, the last part of the legend is that, even though the pieces of the Panthra X-5 were hidden all over Zi, obtaining one of the pieces and attaching any piece, no matter the size, to a Zoid would greatly increase it's speed and power to unbelievable levels. The speed of a slow Gustav could easily surpass that of your Lighting Saix."

Irvine mulled this over in his head. Then something she said hit him. "Well that's all fine and dandy, but how the hell did you know I had a Lighting Saix?" he demanded.

"That's easy, you are the only one on Zi with the rare Zoid." She paused, seeming to prepare for what she was going to say next. "I know more things about you then you would like."

* * *

Moonbay sat quietly at the table as Vicky brought the food over. She couldn't believe how much the two of them had missed in each other's lives. Vicky had become an officer in the Republican Army and Moonbay had lived to see the destruction of the Death Saurer. Not to mention, they had missed out on each other's current personal lives.

"Vicky, what ever happened to that guy you were going out with, um John right?" Moonbay asked with interest.

Vicky sighed with a smile on her face. "Ha, him, he joined the Imperial Army and you know Dad, NO IMPERIALISTS!" she laughed again. "But, that really wasn't the reason; he turned out to be a huge jerk, so I dumped him and haven't seen him since."

Moonbay smirked. The two ate in silence for a few minutes, just enjoying each other's company. "Moonbay, is there anyone out there for you?"

The transporter girl looked at her long time friend. "Maybe, but I'm not sure he even cares about me the same way." Moonbay absent-mindedly looked at Irvine's empty seat and sighed.

Vicky's eyes widened at Moonbay's action. A smirk pulled at her lips. "So, does this guy happen to have a Lighting Saix?"

Moonbay's head turned back with a shocked look on her face. "Is it that obvious?" she asked with a worried look.

"You're a love sick fool, my friend. But I wouldn't worry, guys are clueless!" Vicky laughed.

Moonbay couldn't help but smile. "I should have known you would have guessed."

"Duh, Moonbay, it's me were talking about."

The two of them laughed until Moonbay said, "I wonder where Irvine got off to."

"Don't be a worry wart. He looks like no push over," Vicky stated before taking another bite of salad.

* * *

Irvine stared at the old women. "What the hell does that mean? 'I know more things about you than you would like'."

The store keeper smiled slightly again, "You are meant for greater things than just a mercenary."

Irvine laughed lightly, "You mean I supposed to be some kind of war hero? No thanks, that's Van's job. And by the way, nobody tells me what I'm meant for, I make my own life, not follow what is in some story book."

He got up to leave when Nami finished with, "Not all 'greater things' are war heroes, there is someone who cares about you, you could make _her_ life and yours better." She quietly got up and left as quickly as she showed up.

Irvine gawked at the space where Nami had sat. _"Was she talking about Moonbay and me? What the hell? What was all that? Could she have really known that I ..., no way."_ He exited the shop and started to returned to the hanger. "Never going back there, that's for sure," Irvine said to no one as he looked up at the black sky. "Way too weird, in a scary way. It was like she was a physic or something."

He made his way back to the only hanger in the town, therefore easy to find. The girls were talking again, quieter this time as Irvine managed to find the kitchen and push open the door. "Irvine, you're back. Where did you go anyway?" Moonbay asked.

"Around, found a little shop and found out more about that Panthra X-5 thingy."

Vicky's eyes widened and Moonbay asked, "Well, what did you find out?"

The Lighting Saix pilot sat down and explained about the lost part of the legend as the two girls listened carefully. He was careful to leave out the old women and her knowledge of Irvine's Zoid and personal life. Irvine grabbed himself a plate and asked, "Vicky, you ever hear of that?" Moonbay turned her head to see the blonde girl sigh.

"Yeah, I knew of that, but there are reasons upon reasons for not telling you."

Moonbay was curious now, "Why not tell us?"

Vicky swayed her head from side to side. "It has to do with why I'm out here. Lately, the Republic Army has been digging up those Panthra X-5 pieces," and seeing the look on their faces, "Yes, it is more than just a kiddy legend. We just haven't told anybody because that gets out and bandits come. It turns into a mess. Well, if anybody got their hands on one of those, let's just say it would be hell. So they posted me here to help move the pace along, because they can't have the whole army out here."

Moonbay's eyes narrowed, "Did anybody try to get a hold of the parts?"

"Well, yeah, a couple weeks ago, there was a break-in but nothing was stolen. We think it was the bandits, so they hired you guys to deal with them because, they're nothing special. That's why you were told the mission was nothing hard." She paused and looked at their faces. "Sorry for not telling you, but orders are orders."

Moonbay nodded, "You had your reasons, no problem." They all got up from the table and cleared it. "Vicky, could you fix our Zoids tomorrow?" Moonbay asked. "So we can get out there and stop the bandits?"

Vicky's face had a smirk on it. "Tomorrow? I'll do them tonight and load them up with ammo."

This caught Irvine's attention, "Lighting Saix ammo? How can you afford that? You really don't have to do that."

"Oh, please, I can do that when ever, I get my ammo for feel from the army."

"How can you do that? Even high ranking officers have to pay for the ammo they use," Irvine stated.

Vicky stopped and looked at Moonbay, "You didn't tell him who my father was, did you?"

Moonbay smiled slightly, "Wasn't on the top of my to-do list."

Vicky laughed, "Moonbay you left poor Irvine in the dark."

Irvine stepped in at this point, "Ok well let's get Irvine out of the dark and tell him what's going on so he can go to bed," a slight annoyance tone was in his voice.

Moonbay heard this, oh how many times and quickly said, "Irvine, Vicky is Herman's daughter so, ammo is free for her.

"You're Herman's daughter? Holy crap! Thanks for not telling me Moonbay." He stared wide eyed at the two of them. The two girls laughed as Moonbay turned in and Irvine soon followed. Vicky, however when to work on the Zoids.

* * *

Morning came all too quickly for Moonbay. She had just had a dream where she and Irvine where together, and really didn't want it to end. _"Damn my fantasies. If only they were real."_ She pushed the covers down a bit, and caught the last shade of pink fade from the sky. Glancing at the clock, she realized it was almost 8 o'clock. _"Off to beat the bandits, or hopefully find them. And, all day with Irvine. That's a bonus."_ She smiled to herself as she got dressed and soon walked out the door and into the kitchen where she found Irvine drinking coffee. He nodded to acknowledge her presence. Apparently he was still half asleep.

Vicky came in soon after, covered in grease and dirt already. "Vicky, when did you get up? Looks like you've worked a full day already."

"Haha, Moonbay, I just finished your Zoids, both in top condition. I replaced the armor of your Gustav, and new ammo for both Zoids. Whatever hit you guys yesterday, sure did hell of a job destroying the Gustav armor," she stated, while whipping her hands on a cloth. "What time did you get to bed? How could you fix those Zoids in less than 8 hours?"

"When to bed at 3 and got up at 6."

"Jeez, how do you do that?"

"Moonbay, I live on 3 hours of sleep every night. It doesn't bug me."

* * *

Moonbay had to drag Irvine to the Zoids, not that she had a problem with that but, still it was a little pain. "Irvine if you don't get your lazy ass in the Saix now, I'm leaving you here and taking all the glory for beating the bandits," Moonbay snapped. She may love him but she wasn't going to be his slave.

"Fine, I'm going," he answered back, and crawled into the Saix's cockpit. Vicky waved good bye as the Gustav and the Saix left town.

Moonbay quickly noticed the change in the controls. Everything ran like it was brand new and the radar system was in top shape. She decided to ask Irvine if he noticed anything like her. "Irvine, did you notice anything about your Zoid?"

He answered back, "Yep, the gun moves smoothly, it's loaded with ammo, feels brand new. Your friend did a better job than you ever did," he added with a smirk, just trying to get her mad.

"Be that way, and see if I ever fix it again, asshole." Moonbay turned off the screen and a frown formed on her face. _"How can he be like that, anyway?"_ She closed her eyes and sighed. _"Still, he's my favorite jerk of them all." _The two Zoids moved fairly quickly over the land and were soon outside the city limits.

Irvine kept checking his radar, hoping the bandits would show up soon. "I'm not gonna wait all day," he said to himself.

Around noon the two of them stopped for lunch by a large cliff and a lonely old tree. "Where the hell could bandits hind in this place anyway?" Irvine blurted out as he took a bite of sandwich.

"No idea," she decided to tease him more, "You should know though, Irvine, you used to be one." She smirked, happy with herself, she knew all too well that Irvine hated being compared to bandits.

"Shut it, you know as well as I do that I was and still am a mercenary. Nothing more, nothing less." Moonbay smirked again at his answer. They ate in silence for awhile, not looking at each other.

But Moonbay wanted to question him again, "Nothing more than a mercenary? How about a friend? Or a big brother?" He glanced at her silently, "Moonbay, I got no younger bothers or sisters no more. And as for friends, sure I got them. Why the sudden interest in what I consider myself?"

She could tell he was serious by the look on his face. His dark eye stared right at her, making her feel nervous. "Just because you lost your sister, doesn't mean that your still not a big brother. What about Fiona, she looks up to you?"

Irvine smirked, "If she looks up to me, then she better find someone else, I'm no role model."

"Think what you want, Irvine." The wind blew across the desert, kicking up dust. A quiet 'bleep, bleep' noise was heard from inside the two Zoids.

Irvine jumped on it and looked at the radar. "Damn, we got company." His cockpit closed and Moonbay swiftly jumped into her Gustav.

"Bring it on," Moonbay looked at her radar, two Zoids were coming up fast, but she could tell they were Gun Snipers. One glance at the radar though, and Moonbay could tell that the speed of the Zoids was abnormal. "What the heck is going on?" she managed to get out before the Gun Snipers were upon the two of them.

Irvine quickly dodged a missile attack and shot back at once. "They're pretty fast for Gun Snipers, but not quick enough." The Lighting Saix charged and slashed the gun off the closest Gun Sniper's back. Irvine turned his head to check on Moonbay when the Saix was dragged to the dusty ground. "What the hell?" He spit out as he hit the back of his chair. "Oh, clever bastard, he grabbed my leg. Not for too long though." The Saix's claws swiped the Sniper's arm right off and the whole Zoid fell to the ground. "Idiot, don't mess with my Lighting Saix." He ran over to where Moonbay was having trouble with her Sniper opponent. The Saix shot the Gun Sniper twice and then bit its arm off, throwing it to the ground. "You all right Moonbay?" he called over the screen.

"Ya, I'm fine, thanks, Irvine," she said as she wiped sweat off her fore head. "Crazy idiots came after us quicker than I thought possible."

"They probably just upgraded the Snipers," Irvine commented as he jumped out of the cockpit and walked to the closest Zoids. He reached into his pocket and pulled out hand-cuffs. The Sniper's cockpit opened to reveal a knocked out man, probably in his early 30's. Irvine cuffed him and jogged over to the other Zoid and found the same with the other pilot. "Hey, Moonbay, call the police so we can get these idiots in town." Moonbay nodded and got a hold of the local authorities. Meanwhile, Irvine pulled the two Sniper pilots near the Gustav, and Moonbay once again saw Irvine's well muscled arms and turned away. "What's your problem Moonbay? Never see idiot pilot's before?" he asked smirking.

"No, it's not that, it's just..." but she was saved by two jeeps pulling up. The police took the two bandits away, saying that they would question them. They handed Irvine a few bills and drove away.

Irvine stared wide eyed at the money. "I didn't know we were being paid!" he smiled at Moonbay.

Moonbay shrugged and laughed. "Oh well, ok now split it."

Irvine glanced at her and an evil grin spread on his face. "Split it? Why? I did all of the work! I think I deserve it!"

Moonbay stomped her foot on the ground. "Irvine your mercenary side is showing! Give it here! I'll split it up." She dove for it but missed as Irvine held it up in the air.

"I don't think so Moonbay, it's my hard earned money! And I hope you weren't trying to dis me when you said 'your mercenary side is showing', I personally like my mercenary side and enjoy being one."

Moonbay growled. "I think you just like being an ass!" Irvine laughed and Moonbay jumped into the Gustav. "Let's keep looking, it's only 2 and I wanna get my own money!" Moonbay started to drive away and Irvine chuckled as he pocketed the money.

The two of them rode around all day, and by the time it was eight, nothing else had shown up. They stopped for dinner along side a stream, where the fog was already thick. "How are we going to navigate in this weather?" Moonbay wondered.

Irvine paid no attention; his eye was on the food. "I wouldn't worry," he started in between bites, "If we have to, we'll spend the night out here." A faint roar was heard over the crackling of the fire.

"What on Zi was that?" Moonbay looked out over the land, but couldn't see anything. "Sounded like a .."

"A Geno Breaker right Moonbay?"

She scowled. "I told you I don't think and never will think that Raven has gone in-," but before she could finish the sentence the Geno Breaker appeared in a flash of red. Irvine ran to the Lighting Saix and jumped in. Moonbay followed his lead.

"What now, Moonbay? What now?" Irvine asked, skipping his seat belt and charging the Geno.

"Shut up!" Moonbay turned the Gustav around just in time to see the Geno Breaker blast the Saix. Moonbay's face twisted in worry.

"Irvine, you alright?" Moonbay frantically called over the screen.

"Ya, I'm fine," Irvine answered and rubbed the back of his head. The Lighting Saix dodged the second attack and shot back, but was not quick enough to miss the strike of the claws. Moonbay watched as Irvine fell down and stayed down.

"Irvine! Irvine!" she called over the screen.

"Chill out and move now!" The Geno had changed targets and went after Moonbay. It soon disappeared in the fog. Moonbay checked the radar quickly, "Damn it! The fog has messed with the radar and navigation system." Moonbay's hand gripped the controls tighter. She was ready for anything. The faint roar was heard behind her as the Gustav did the fastest turn ever. Moonbay shot at it twice, missed and awaited the impact from the Zoid. Her eyes closed, waiting for the worst.

It never came. When her eyes opened the area was covered in a gold tint and the fog was as thick as ever. She looked around to find the source and found herself looking at the top of the cliff, where a lone Holo-tech Zaber Fang sat looking down upon them. "Not more bandits, not now." Moonbay barely said. The Zaber Fang shot at the Geno Breaker, knocking off one of its guns. The red monster roared and ran away into the fog, obviously annoyed with the new comer. Moonbay tried to get the pilot of the Zaber on the screen, but was unsuccessful and just as it appeared, the Zaber Fang disappeared from sight. "What was that?" Moonbay asked herself. Realizing she hadn't heard from Irvine, she jumped out of the cockpit and ran to the Lighting Saix. "IRVINE! Are you ok?" Moonbay cupped her hands to her face, yelling.

The cockpit slowly opened and Irvine jumped out, clutching his stomach and leaning over. "What the hell was th-," he managed to get out before falling over.

* * *

Moonbay had Irvine laying down on a blanket she found. She was about to take him back to the hanger but, the navigation system was down and the fog was so thick, there was no way she could find her way back. It turns out, he hit his head again, which caused him to fall and black out, but he also had a wound on his stomach that was bleeding, probably from hitting it in the cockpit. (A/N: remember, he didn't put on his seatbelt) She quickly bandaged his head and stomach and sighed heavily. "Irvine," she whispered, "How could you be so careless? And making me worry like this?" Moonbay felt tears fall down her cheeks and hit the ground. She turned back to him, and seeing his chest rise and fall made her relax a bit.

"If anything ever happened to you, I have no idea how I would go on living. You've saved me many times, and I've hardly re-paid you. And truthfully, you've been my reason for stayed around the army base. I can't help but be around you, you crazy asshole." She wiped her eyes. "I've always thought of you as a brother, and maybe even more." She once again got no response from him. She crawled closer to his body and sighed.

"You defiantly mean way more than just a brother, or a friend to me." She brushed rouge bangs from his face and kissed his lips silently. She had half wanted him to get up, and half did not. Seeing that half of her would be unhappy, she pulled the covers over him and then went to sleep herself. The only thing on her mind at the moment was: _"Will I ever be able to tell that to his face, when he's finally on his feet again."_

* * *

A/N: A holo-tech Zaber Fang is just like a regular Zaber Fang, but it has see-through armor. Just in case you were wondering.

Like always, reviews are great! They're like the icing on a cake, or something like that. Thanks a bunch!

randomcat23


	6. Bandit Leaders

Alright guys! Yet another chapter in Blackfire! I'm extremely happy with myself for actually continuing this! Anyway, tons of thanks to EVERY reviewer! You guys keep me going!

hanyouwolf: claps for hanyouwolf yay! Thank you so much for your support!

Midnight Blue Star: Hope this is a soon enough update! Thank you bunches for your reviewing!

IrvineSano: Thank you so much! You've been very, very encouraging! I thank you! Trouble with your fic? Let me know what I can do.

AntiMusicMan: Yay! A new reviewer! Thanks for reviewing. Anyway yes it would help if you knew everyone...you should look everyone up on the internet.

A small note: I see the Zoids as having their own minds and this chapter really shows it...so nobody yell at me for the Zoids moving on their own. (As we all know, the Zoids in New Century 0 seem to be more...human-needing and don't move on their own...but then again this story takes place in the Guardian Force time and the Zoids seem pretty independent during those episodes.)

Disclaimer: See last chapter or the first chapter or the second or...

A soft breeze blew across the desert land, covering two figures on the ground with a small layer of dust. One of the two people, moved slightly, brushing off the dirt on his face. As he tried to sit up, the Saix pilot flinched in pain. Irvine clutched his stomach and let out a small groan. He blinked a few times, trying to identify his surroundings. No great land marks were seen except the cliff, even with the use of his eye patch. The Gustav sat near by as well as the Lighting Saix. Irvine took notice of Moonbay, who was still sleeping, curled up in a ball. She shivered slightly as the wind came back. For the first time, Irvine noticed the bandages on his head as well as his stomach. He smirked slightly as he pulled the blanket over Moonbay's shoulders and once again attempted to stand up straight. Easier said than done.

Irvine stood still for a moment, catching his already exhausted breath. The Lighting Saix roared softly, seeing its pilot moving and walked over quicky. Irvine smiled at his Zoid, the most loyal one he has ever had. The Saix bent down slightly, hoping for a nose rub. (A.N.: Why not? If it's an animal...) Irvine moved slowly to his Zoid, hand outstretched. The Saix gave a grateful roar as Irvine looked him over, trying to figure out the damage. _"That's one battle I'm not proud of, damn that Geno Breaker. I was right after all," _Irvine sighed at his thoughts._ "This thing is turning into much more than a bandit mission, much more."_ His eye caught something weird on his Zoid: hardly any damage. His eyes widened at this finding, "Was the battle even that bad? How could you walk away with no wounds and me, barely moving?" He asked his Zoid. The Saix gave a low growl as to show he was shrugging. Irvine laughed lightly, not wanting to push his body any further.

Van walked down the hallway, with Fiona at his side, heading for the Ligar. "Fiona, how long do you think we'll be on this mission?" She turned to him, her hair falling on her face, "Maybe a few days, but we should pack extra, just incase." Her voice was determined and serious, not the usual cheery tone she had. Van took notice of this, "You worried about something? I mean, it's just another mission...at least I hope so." She smiled, "No it's nothing, I was just thinking about Raven." Van's eyes widened, "Why?" Fiona giggled, "Don't get any weird ideas, Van, I was just wondering what it would be like to see your own Zoid turn against you, and you had no idea how or why it was happening. To watch your friend attack you and your organoid." Van sighed, "Fiona, this is Raven we're talking about, he doesn't consider Zoids his friends, he was just shocked that his own Geno Breaker, the Zoid that he watched be born attack him." "Well, I was thinking about you too," she replied. "What if it happens to all Zoids in the area?"

They stopped at the exit, Van faced Fiona an answered, "We would have known if that was the case, Irvine and Moonbay are out in that city already. Besides, we won't let that happen, we'll get to the bottom of this, just like we did with Zoid Eve." Fiona just smiled at his reply and followed him out to the Blade Ligar. The two jumped in and strapped themselves in. Herman then came out to give out the final directions. "Ok Van, like we decided, we're camping right outside Blackfire City. The rest of the army, as well as myself, will be out there as soon as possible." Van nodded and asked, "Should I let my friend, Irvine, know of what we're doing?" Herman paused, "That Lighting Saix pilot? You probably won't have too, he most likely already knows." He saluted Van off before the Ligar pilot could ask what he meant. Van shrugged and closed the cockpit.

The Ligar moved quickly out of the area, kicking up dust and dirt as it went. Van turned to Fiona and asked, "What do you think Herman meant by that?" Fiona put a finger to the corner of her mouth, "Maybe Irvine and Moonbay found out from someone at the city. Moonbay did have a friend that lived there right?" "Well, yea but, would they even know? The armies are sure keeping this all hush-hush. I mean, Doctor Dee didn't even know about this. He even said that this would be a no-problem mission...for both groups," he added. Zeke roared in agreement, from inside the Blade Ligar. "See, Zeke even agrees with me. There must be something more to this." Fiona smiled slightly, "Well, if we needed to know any more information, Herman would have given it to us, right? So, if there is anything else we need to know, we'll find out soon enough." She smiled at Van. "Don't worry so much Van." Van returned the smile and turned his eyes back to the dusty road.

(A.N.:Hadn't heard from Van and Fiona in awhile..so I decided to insert this little scene.)

Moonbay stirred slightly and yawned. She turned to face Irvine, only to find that he had moved himself. Her eyes widened in shock, _"He never stops amazing me. How could he walk after something like that? Where did he go?" _Her head turned around and the blanket fell from her shoulders. _"He even put the blanket over me..." _She spotted him by his Zoid, as she got up. "IRVINE! What do you think your doing? How can you even move after everything?" A small tint of worry trailed in her voice as Irvine turned to face her with a smirk on his face.

"Like anything like that would keep me down." Moonbay smiled slightly as she walked closer. "Well at least your feeling ok...I was worried about you.." **Mistake number one: Worry.** "Worried about me? Moonbay are you feeling ok?" Irvine questioned her with a smirk on his face. "Moonbay, the great Irvine-hater?" He limped closer to her. **Mistake two: letting him come** **closer.** Moonbay felt her cheeks turn red as Irvine moved his face closer to hers, laughing at her. "Somehow I find it hard to believe that you were worried about me."

"_CRAP! CRAP, CRAP CRAP!_ _Now that I've kissed him, I can't look at him without blushing!_" she thought. She had to get him out of her face before he noticed her cheeks. She stepped back and tried to act normal. "Shut up, you don't ever change, I save your sorry ass and get nothing of a thanks." Irvine could tell she meant that and stopped his teasing, "Hey, I appreciate the bandages and stuff, ... thanks a lot Moonbay."_ "Ok cut the corny crap Irvine," _he thought quickly. "But you still owe me for being wrong about the Geno Breaker!" he smirked at her. The girl he had fallen in love with, saw him as a jerk and still worried about him. "Irvine, I can't believe you, you brought that up now?" She sighed, not ready for this. "Well yeah, I want an apology." It was kinda true, he hated being wrong or proved wrong. He took a step closer and said again, "How about an apology, hmm Moonbay? If you worry about me, don't you worry about my feelings?" _"He's getting closer! Damn it, back up Moonbay, but not to obviously! Stop blushing Moonbay, you gotta stop!"_ "Alright you asshole, I admit that you were right and I was wrong and all that crap, now please back up!" **Mistake number three.**

Irvine stopped, _"Back up? What's up with her...I might know..." _"That hurts Moonbay, I don't smell that bad and your no flower yourself!" He straightened himself up. "It's not that, stupid, you're just crowding me." He couldn't help his laughing, but ended up coughing. Apparently he was not well enough to do much of anything. Her face went from laughter to worried. "Irvine, you should really sit down, I don't think your healed completely." "Fine," Irvine managed to get out in between coughs. "Let's get the Zoids back to Blackfire and refuel." He limped to the Lighting Saix, and Moonbay was about to run up and help him but, her mind told her other wise. _"He might suspect something, besides, it would hurt his high and mighty ego too much." _She smiled at her thoughts and jogged to the Gustav and got it running. Irvine soon followed with the Saix and loaded it on to the trailer. He jumped down, more carefully than usual and got into the Gustav, trying not to flinch too much.

The two traveled in silence for awhile, not sure what to talk about. Irvine glanced over at the transporter girl and asked, "So what do you think about the Geno Breaker thing, Moonbay?" She didn't look at him but answered, "I'm not sure what to make of it, or that weird Zaber Fang that chased it away. If it was Raven piloting it, I really doubt he would run from something like that. I would be able to accept it if it was some random Geno Breaker, which even that...nothing seems to be fitting together." She sighed and rubbed the back of her neck. "It's so confusing. And really, Irvine, wouldn't you have done better if it was Raven piloting it? You've faced him many times and know his battle style." It was her turn to glance at him. "Well, thanks for such confidence in me, Moonbay, but," he smirked at her, "That was not Raven's style," he stared out at the dusty road, "It was like the Zoid was acting on its own."

Moonbay sighed again. "I wish we had some kind of clue as to what is making the Geno Breaker attack us. Or even way all the bandits' Zoids are way more powerful than they should be." Irvine muttered in agreement and then it hit him. "NAMI!" Moonbay's head turned to face him, a shocked look on her face. "What?" "She's this old women I met when I went out that night. Remember?" Moonbay took in a breath. "What if what she said about the aritifacts was true?" Irvine stated. Moonbay pondered this for a moment. _"That would explain a few things..."_ "Well, the sooner we can catch the bandits and the Geno Breaker, the better." Her voice was determined

Moonbay glanced at him and sighed, "But, we're not going after them until you're better." Irvine's eyes narrowed in confusion. "Better? I'm fine right now. There's no need to wait, I can pilot the Saix as well as ever." "Irvine," her voice was distressed, "You can't go prancing around in your Zoid until we pull the bandages off and you don't bleed. I'm not letting you fight with a damaged head." She glared at him, telling him that her mind was set. "You worry too much," he began unwrapping his head bandages as Moonbay protested. The bandages came off and no blood spilled out. "Told you, I'm fine if a little sore." He smirked, glad that the fight was settled. "Fine, go get yourself killed," She spat, "See if I care." "Oh, but you would," he said quietly. "Keep thinking that, Irvine. One day I won't be here to save your butt and you'll end up laying in a desert." All Irvine replied with was laughter.

They had been riding in silence for a while when the Gustav's radar started going off. Moonbay glanced at it with curiosity. "A group of three Red Horns seem to be resting just over the hill," she stated, looking over at Irvine. He shrugged, hardly caring. "Probably the bandits. No town folk could have Zoids with that kind of power." He pointed at the screen, "Looks like they haven't noticed us yet. Perfect," he added with a grin, "A sneak attack." The radar went off again and Moonbay jumped, "What the hell?" Her eyes widened in shock. "Another Red Horn coming this way! Straight at us. Hurry up and get into your Lighting Saix." Irvine needed no invitation. "Right, open the damn cockpit. It's ass-woopin' time."

Moonbay quickly opened the cockpit and mentally prepared for battle. _"Bandit leaders here we come."_ She gripped the controls, ready for anything. But, before she knew what was happening, Irvine's lips slid across hers in a quick kiss, as he sprinted to his Zoid. Moonbay instantly blushed and her fingers trailed cross her lips. She shook her head, shocked. _"He knows, how? This is surprising. I'm so...so...gonna kill him! He must have heard me last night while I confessed!"_ Her thoughts raced through her mind faster than the Lighting Saix itself. The Red Horn had closed in and the pilot apparently had alerted his teammates. Moonbay gripped the controls, mixed feelings rushed through her mind. _"Why now Irvine? Why now?" _She instantly tried to get the mercenary up on the communication screen but he would not reply. "Crap he must have blocked me." (A.N. Can they even do that?) An instant smile spread across her face. "Bring it on you bandits, because there another man who needs some attention."

The battle started off fierce. Moonbay occasionally spotted the Saix darting in and out of view, attacking the Red Horn bandits, obviously not having an easy time. The bandits' plan seemed to consist of surrounding the Saix, cutting off the escape route. Moonbay was amazed that they could even keep up with the Lighting Saix's moves. "Irvine must of been right, the bandits did get the artifacts in the legend. This is turning into something way over our heads." The Gustav was hit from the side by a pleased looking Red Horn. Moonbay shot him, knocking off the main gun, which fell forward onto the Zoid's head. "One down, and-," she turned to see that Irvine had defeated two Red Horns, which lay, smashed in several places. He was now turning toward the leader. She saw that the Saix had suffered some damaged mostly to the right leg. "I'll have to fix that later..." The transporter girl closed in on the bandits. However the foe was too fast and got behind the Gustav, preparing to fire. The Saix rammed the Red Horn and let out a roar. A double shot from the black zoid's gun and the Red Horn fell, sending dust everywhere.

"It got rammed on the side and suffered several shots to the legs and main body, and the Red Horn was still capable of moving. What are we getting ourselves into?" Moonbay let out a sigh of relief. "Glad that's over." She closed her eyes, letting her arms lay on her lap. "Now we only have one more group of bandits to catch..." A low sound caused her to open an eye, after only a minute of peace. She watched from the cockpit as the four knocked-out pilots were pulled from the destroyed Zoids by police officals. "Hmm, Irvine must have called them, which by the way, where is my favorite asshole?" She hopped out of the Gustav's cockpit and got a wave of thanks from the officers as well as a bunch of reward money. After pocketing the cash she turned and looked up at the Saix. She stood at the back of the Zoid, examining the damage.

She was soon stopped by a pair of strong arms wrapped around hr waist, as she jumped a little in surprise. Irvine had her back up against his firm chest and his chin on her head, saying nothing. Moonbay sighed into him, lost in comfort and warmth. She savored the moment and was glad that they were alone. She soon asked, not looking at him, "You bastard, you heard me last night, didn't you?" She kept her eyes on the horizon. "It looks that way doesn't it?" Smiling, Moonbay breathed in his scent of sweat and Zoid metal. "Why didn't you say anything, Irvine? How could you have been awake?" Irvine smirked, "You forget that I'm a light sleeper and besides," he whispered in her ear, "toying with your mind is far too much fun." "You're such an asshole." She answered and decided to be bold by asking. "How long have you loved me?" His simple answer came, "Too long, Moonbay." He smirked silently. "Why did you never tell me," she demanded, breaking the embrace and turning to gaze at him. Moonbay couldn't help but smile at his trademark smirk and his dark eyes. She peered at his wild hair as he answered, "Ladies before gentlemen." Their faces inched toward each others as Moonaby said, "You're hardly a gentleman." Irvine said nothing and snaked his arms around her small waist again as her arms slid around his neck. "I love you Irvine," whispered Moonbay as he pulled her into a much wanted kiss. (A.N.: -)

YAY! How special is that? Finally got them together...hehe. Anyway, reviews are your best friends, so get to it! -randomcat23

A quick note: I'm not sure when the next update is going to be. School is starting soon and I have no idea how my homework is going to effect my writing time. So if I don't update in a few weeks, don't worry this story is far from being discontinued.


	7. Out of the Desert

Aw, man...I've been horribly bad about updating this fic...sorry to everyone, and thanks for your patients.

Haha, I was reading some of the older chapters and realized some of them don't match up and how awful my spelling corrections are...hopefully I'll be able to post revised chapters soon.

Shout Outs: MagCat, IrvineSano, AntiMusicMan, fireinu, Vi3t Babii, BlackHole CO, hanyouwolf, Midnight Blue Star (You guys rock!)

Disclaimer: I'm sure you guys get tired of reading these, just as much as I get tired of typing them!

I DON'T OWN ZOIDS!

Also, I''m trying a new layout for this chapter...no more really long paragraphs....

........................so it begins...................................

The suns began sinking slowly behind the horizon as a lone Zoid continued its journey. Van sat behind the cockpit, his eyes drooping and his controls slipping. Zeke growled slightly to keep him awake, but even the organoid seemed tired. The pilot peered over his shoulder and glanced at Fiona asleep in the back seat. It had been a long few days for them all.

Van sighed. They were supposed to be in Blackfire days ago, but constant interruptions only kept them late. For whatever reason, Herman kept sending them out on wild missions. Ok maybe not wild, but defiantly random. "So much for being on army duty."

Another long yawn escaped his mouth. The journey started as a meeting with Herman, and that only complicated things...with Raven's Zoid running around and those bandits. Herman told Van to keep his eyes pealed for any sigh of the trouble makers but even after coming in range of the city, the Ligar pilot had seen no one. Van let go of the controls and slid back in the chair.

"You take over for a while Zeke, I'm beat." Van picked up a packet of papers that Herman had given to him. It contained a list of the people in the area, their records, and the registered Zoid they had, if any. He flipped through the packet, bored out of his mind. The Ligar pilot set the papers down and gazed out at the horizon.

For once in the last day, something did catch his eye. A soft glow was surrounding a small area about a mile away. With his curiosity rising, Van commanded, "Over that way Zeke, let's check that out." Zeke roared in agreement and the Ligar turned slightly and ran of in the new direction. But when the Zoid finally stopped, only a few meters away, Van's curiosity went to worry.

In the clearing a camp fire burned brightly, yet surrounding it were three bodies of Zoid pilots. Their Zoids sat destroyed around the perimeter, not moving. Van jumped out of the cockpit, but not without a worried roar from Zeke. Upon inspection of the pilots, he found that they were only unconscious. This puzzled Van, even more than Raven''s Zoid going insane. Scratching his head and not knowing what else to do, Van carried the pilots one at a time into the back of the Ligar. _(**A.N**.: Yes, yes I know, the Ligar doesn't have that huge of a space in the back...work with me here people.)_

Climbing back into his seat, Van took off and in a few minutes, his eyes caught the shapes of buildings...Blackfire.

......................._back in the desert outside Blackfire._...............................

A small pink Zoid rolled over the desert hills. It's only cargo: a rare Lightning Saix, glimmered in the setting sun. The pilot of the Gustav brushed hair out of her dark eyes and stared at the road ahead. It had been a long day for everyone.

Her partner was fast asleep beside her, his silent snores the only noise in the cockpit. He continued to sleep even as the dusty Zoid rolled into the city of Blackfire. _"Guess I should be waking up Irvine...."_ Moonbay thought to herself as she parked the Gustav outside the hanger. The transporter girl leaned in close to Irvine and felt that rush of feelings all over again. How long ago was it when they kissed.....

Her finger only gently brushed the mercenary's shoulder when he awoke and caught her eyes. Moonbay couldn't stop herself from smiling, "We're back Irvine, but I think everyone is asleep so we'll have to be quiet." She poked him playfully in the chest. "Don't go waking them all up." Irvine nodded in response, his face blank. They both exited the cockpit without a word spoken.

"A bit tired aren't you?" She questioned him. It was kinda weird that he wouldn't answer her. "We're being watched," Irvine stated simply. "Come on out Van AND Fiona." He gestured for them to come out of the shadows. Eventually, slowly and both blushing, came the ligar pilot and his partner.

"What's with the sneaky watching Van?" Irvine questioned his voice not angry, yet annoyed.

"Well, you see, we were waiting for you to return and..and when we saw the Gustav roll in we, ah, headed outside..." Van paused.

"And what?"

Van replied, "Oh it was nothing, we were just being the stupid younger people that we are." He forced a laugh. Irvine raised an eyebrow. Moonbay stood confused. "Never mind what we were doing..How was your luck with the bandits?"

"We got two out of three groups. Gotta go find the last one tomorrow...Wait, what are you guys doing here?" Moonbay questioned.

Van's face turned serious. "As it turns out, we have a huge situation here and the bandits in this area might know what is going on." He followed up with an explanation of what the meeting was about and Raven's problems. "And the worst part is that we have no idea why the Geno Breaker has gone berserk. We decided to come here because the bandits and Geno Breaker might be connected somehow."

"But, how could the bandits have fiddled with the Geno Breaker? They didn't look like the sharpest crayons in the box if you catch my drift." Moonbay asked while trying to piece things together.

"We think the bandits might have some higher authority, somewhere. Herman put some officer on that job." Van sighed. "For now, we can just sit and wait until further instructions. Herman should arrive tomorrow sometime. Which brings up another question...Where have you guys been staying?" A goofy grin came upon Van's face. "We've been wondering in the streets for three hours!"

For his slightly stupid actions Van receive two head wacks from Irvine and giggles from Moonbay as she led them toward the Zoid hanger. The hanger was usually dark, it was only 10:00 after all. Moonbay opened the door and found another note from Vicky:

**Went to bed early, Dad's gonna be here in the morning. Help yourselves to the frig.!**

"Looks like Herman's coming right on time."Moonbay set the note down.Irvine nodded and headed to the refrigerator, his head disappeared behind the door.

"So Vicky is Herman's daughter then? I never knew he had a kid." Van stared awestruck and followed Irvine to the food.Fiona smiled and took a seat at the table next to Moonbay.

...........................later................................

The four of them soon went off to bed; tomorrow was going to be an interesting day. Van and Fiona wished Irvine and Moonbay good night and the two groups split off into the hallways.Moonbay and Irvine walked quietly down the hallway relaxing at the fact that all the bandits were captured. The transporter girl slowed to a stop at her door, Irvine did the same.

She turned her head slightly and gazed up at his stern face."You always have the mercenary look on you right?" She playfully removed his eye patch and Irvine caught here hand. "You would be killed by a mercenary for that." A smirk tugged at this lips.

"What you gonna do about it?"

"Leave you." He replied simply and turned to walk away.

"_What was that?" _Her mind asked him in a sarcastic tone. Moonbay flushed, "Without saying good night?!"

Irvine stopped, his face smirking and his eyes gleaming. "No..." he said slowly and pulled her in for a quick kiss. "Night Moonbay." She watched him walk into the dark hallway with a smile on her mouth.

..............................Next Morning.................................

The four of them sat silently around the living room, sipping coffee. All were up before sun rise or in Irvine's case, an hour after it. Herman hadn't shown up yet and Vicky left early. So, sitting around and waiting for directions was the only option.

Van and Fiona sat by each other; Fiona munching on a muffin and Van enjoying his papaya. Moonbay sighed and drank more coffee. She eventually sat back on couch. Irvine was leaning back on the sofa, his eyes closed, sipping coffee. His arm sat on the upper part of the couch behind Moonbay.

Fiona glanced at the couple on the couch. _"Am I missing something?,"_ she thought with a little grin. The clock chimed 7:00 and a knock came at the door. Vicky, with a smile on her face, walked in with a very merry, "Good morning!"

Her greeting was replied by a 'hey' and a cheery 'morning' from Irvine and Moonbay. Van and Fiona stood and introduced themselves. And within minutes Vicky was already laying out their day.

"Dad's already down by the jail. He came in just now with a squad. We have to meet him there and question the bandits. Let's just hope they spit out the right answers." The group got up to leave, Vicky leading, and walked out into the bright summer day. The town was already bustling with life, whether from Herman's arrival or just a regular day Moonbay did not know, but the five of them made their way through the crowds to the Blackfire jail.

The jail itself was plain enough. Two stories high and made out of grey bricks with a flat roof. The windows were barred; the walls outside had a 'wanted' poster or two posted on them but they were mostly covered in 'town announcements'. However, Moonbay's eye caught a strange sight. A Halo Tech. Zaber Fang glowed in the sun light just behind the building. _"Woah, is that the same one that I saw in the desert?"_ She was about to open her mouth to question but Vicky answered it for her.

"I almost forgot." She stopped them right outside the door. "The squad picked up a guy in the desert on their way here. Apparently, he as 'worked' for the Republic Army before so my dad 'trusts' him. The reason they brought him here is because he has some experience with bandits and 'knows how they think, so he will be useful to us'". Vicky quoted Herman on that one. "That's his Zoid out back, just incase you were wondering who the heck had a Zoid like that."

Moonbay nodded as Vicky spun around and pushed open the heavy door. To the right was a desk, the officer snoozing on the job, to the left, spiral stairs, and ahead of them was the hallway of prison cells. Not many were filled, the most of the criminals were probably just shop lifters or something like that. Not many serious felony-law-breakers here.

The group made their way to the back and entered another room. A single table sat in the middle, with two chairs, one on each side. Only two other people were present in the square room, Herman, who was greeted with salutes from everyone plus a hug from Vicky and another man standing against the wall. Herman cleared his throat and gestured toward the man in the corner, "This is Shirotaka. He'll be helping us with questioning the bandits and possibly finding the Geno Breaker." Everyone's attention went to Shirotaka but, he remained silent.

He was dressed in desert clothes, long pants but a short sleeve shirt. A black head band kept his spiky, white hair out of his eyes. Shirotaka's eyes were aqua colored and hardly visible behind the yellow tips of his hair. The Zaber's piolet had a serious, lean face. On his hands he wore gloves with the finger tips missing and his boots were covered in dust and mud. He carried his gun on his side and a bandana hung loosely from his neck. He stood there with his arms crossed over his chest and looked more like a bandit than the ones Moonbay and Irvine had been capturing.

An awkward silence fell over the group. When Shirotaka finally looked up he said simply, "Shiro, just Shiro. The onlypeople who called me Shirotaka are dead." He took another state of silence and Herman didn't ask any questions.

(A.N.: Just in case anyone was wondering, Shirotaka means White Hawk in Japanese...And I did shorten it to Shiro because Shirotaka is a pretty long name. But I have no idea what Shiro means, if anything...)

"Ok," Herman started, "We'll have Shiro here question the bandits first. Everyone else into the other room while I escort the bandit here." The group walked out, Vicky and Moonbay glancing at Shiro before they left.

"Dad, you sure we can trust that guy? And why is he the one questioning the guy; he doesn't work for the army." Vicky asked Herman in a rush.

"Easy. Shiro has lived in the desert for a long time, he has experience with bandits-,"

Vicky interrupted with the sarcastic remark: "That's because he is one.."

Herman glared and continued, "and he says he has a way with getting the needed information." He added, "Believe me, I've worked with him before, Shiro knows what he's doing."

Vicky sighed and shrugged as the five of them walked into the observation room. Herman left to get the man in question.

..............TA-DAH!.................................................

Well, ta-dah! I stopped there because, well, I gotta get this posted and I need a pick up for the next chapter. If anyone was confused with the 'observation' room thing...It's that room where people sit and watch the criminal be questioned. But the criminal can't see them..If that made any sense...anyway, please review as always and once again sorry for the long wait! -randomcat23


	8. Taking Action or Not

WHOOO! A new chapter; that's always good news. I have gone back and revised chapters 1-7. Changed a few spelling errors and smoothed out some conversation issues. Read them if you want, no big changes were made.

Thank you thank you to all reviewers!

hanyouwolf: jumps up and down eating Pixie Stick Thankies! Glad to here that I'm keeping everyone in character...I mean sometimes I'll just sit there and go: "That doesn't sound very Irvine-ish." So hearing that really made my day!

Midnight Blue Star: Thanks for the constant reviewing! I appreciate it!

MagCat: Thankies a bunch and we'll just have to see what comes out of the couples you mentioned...

IrvineSano: Thank-y thank-y! Glad you like Shiro. And thanks for the Japanese translations! I found Shiro's name on a random 'Japanese words' site. Lol

Disclaimer: If I owned Zoids, Irvine and Moonbay would have their own season. But, it's obvious that they don't have their own season so that means I don't own Zoids.

...Chapter 8...

The jail room was filled to the brim with silence. No one moved, no one talked. The bandit sat quietly in a metal chair and set his jaw straight-calling a challenge to the man across the room. The white-haired pilot stood against the wall, ignoring the bandit. He had seen this thing before: the person being questioned remained in a defiant state that said: "You'll never get anything out of me." Of course, all of them had been wrong to underestimate his skills.

Shiro straightened, walked over the small table and glared at the bandit straight in the eyes. "Let's get this over with. Make things easy for you and for me." He placed a hand on the table, never taking his eyes off the man in front of him. "Why were you and your buddies in the desert?"

"I got the right to remain silent," the bandit spat. "You can't get anything out of me."

Shiro raised an eyebrow. "Actually, you have no right to remain silent, not in here anyway. And I will get the answers I want out of you, one way or another."

The bandit glared and smirked, "You're a cocky kid."

"And you're a stubborn old bastard. Now that introductions are over, answer the questions." He had no patients what-so-ever. "Do you even know why we have you in here?"

"You have no proof that we were destroying property of the Blackfire citizens."

"I never said that you did, but thanks for bringing that up, that's an interesting point you said. Were you destroying property?"

All the bandit replied with was silence and a deathly glare.

Shiro produced a piece of paper from his pants' pockets and glanced at it. "So, how about those answers, eh Mr. Greg Smithton?" Shiro's face was unreadable as he stared at the desert pilot.

"Who's Greg Smithton?" was the calm reply.

"You don't know? That's the man your Zoid is licenced to. And that's the name we got from the citizens of this city when we brought around a picture. If you don't know who that is, then you must of...should I say.."

"I didn't steal it if that's what you thinking," the bandit retorted hotly.

"Well, if you're not Greg Smithton, then what are you doing with his Zoid?" Shiro continued to play the innocent questioner a little more. Trap the bandits up in their own words. His fingers drummed the table in a constant rhythm.

Time pasted. Trapped in a corner, the bandit remained silent. Finally giving in the bandit sighed. Looked like he was going to jail anyway. "What do you want?" _Not like I'll tell him anything important._

"I already asked what I want. What were you doing in the desert? Your Zoids are more powerful than they should be. And who are you taking orders from?" Shiro's sharp gaze held Greg's eyes. "Answer me."

"What do you think you'll get out of me? If I say nothing, how are you and your little army gonna stop whatever we have going on?"

"They'll find a way. So, let's continue." He pulled a small object from his pocket and rolled it over with his gloved fingers. "What is this?" His sarcastic remark told the other man he already knew what was in his hand.

His eyes opened wide. "Where did you get that? You take that off my Zoid?"

Shiro's eyes narrowed as he shrugged. "Found it on the Zoid of yours. Didn't belong there and looked suspicious. Where did you get it?" He waited a minute. "Where did you get this Panthra X-5 artifact?"

Police officers dragged the bandit into a cell under Shiro's watch. When the white haired man turned his head, he smirked as Greg threw a few curses his way. He walked over to where the group was standing and said to Herman, "Wasn't what I expect. Couldn't get everything out of him. Whoever is paying them or their leader is respected a whole lot. Even when I mentioned him being paid to help us, he remained silent."

Herman nodded, "Well, we now know what kind of man to look for." He turned to a solider and ordered, "Have a list made up of all people with authority who know of the Panthra X-5. Bring it to me pronto." The solider raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth to ask something when Herman interrupted. "Yes, yes I know it's a broad and difficult task, but get to it." With a salute the man was off. Herman was then called off to a pack of soldiers and left the group standing there.

Shiro began to walk away when Vicky stopped him. "Where do you think you're going? Herman told me to have to stay at the hanger. Your job is not done here."

Shiro glanced at her with his ice eyes, turned back around, and walked over to his Zoid.

"Who does he think he is? That was an order from Herman, not me. Jerk. How did we get stuck with him." She sighed. "I guess we should head back to the hanger. There's gonna be a meeting for you, Van, and the other soldiers, in about an hour, so you might want to get a bit to eat or something. Moonbay and Irvine, you're free to do anything you want I guess." Vicky shrugged and walked back to the hanger where Shiro and his rare Saber Fang were waiting. Van and Fiona soon followed after, leaving Irvine and Moonday in the dusty road.

Irvine glanced down at Moonbay with his one eye and asked, "So, what you wanna do?"

"You're asking me? Um, how about a walk? Give us a chance to sort all this out." She looked up at him thoughtfully.

"So we can 'sort all this out'?" He laughed. "If you say so," and wrapped his arm around her shoulder and lead her out of town.

The sun blazed over the bear land bringing heat, wind, and clouds. Irvine and Moonbay found themselves sitting under a small group of palm trees by a pond. Hands linked, Moonbay's small one against Irvine's calloused hand, the two sat in silence. Moonbay leaned on his broad shoulder and gazed over the land thinking of nothing. She glanced up at his face, taking in Irvine's features. Everything from his straight mouth to wild hair, Moonbay took it all in. He seemed deep in thought; probably over this crazy mission.

"Irvine, what are we going to do about this?"

"About what?"

"Come on, the whole Panthra X-5 thing. This is our mission after all." He didn't answer, and at that point, Irvine stood and tossed a pebble into the pond. He scratched his head and looked down at her.

"Personally, I don't care what we do. The army's here, let them deal with it." Leaning against a tree trunk he waited for her reply.

"You don't care?" She was dumbfounded. "How could you not? This is almost as big as the Deathsaurer." She turned away, "It's another possible world disaster. And we're already wrapped up in it." Moonbay asked again, her hair falling onto her face, "What are we going to do about this?"

"Like I said, I don't care. As far as I'm concerned, we should leave and go back to Dee's office."

"Why are you not jumping at this opportunity?"

To her surprised, he laughed and threw his arms out in questioning, "Moonbay, since when do I like being caught up in government affairs? I'm not ready to commit to what they want. I don't want what they offer. They want me to take up a job. Look at me. I'm a mercenary; That's all I am. I'm not Van. I don't like the publicity." His dark eyes looked away, "I'm ready to go back to just doing quick jobs. Back to mercenary missions and living a low profile life. It may be selfish, but I want to get away from all this."

Moonbay stood up, walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. She looked up at him with pleading eyes. "Irvine, we have to do something though; this is big. And they need you." Her eyes held his. "I need you to help."

Irvine glanced down at her, "I hate being pulled and tied down by responsibility. You know that." Her stare continued and he sighed. "But this time, I'll stay but, just because," he smirked and lowered his head to be level with hers, "a persistent transporter girl asked me to." His muscular arms wrapped around her waist and he pulled her closer to his chest. "Do I get any reward for listening?" His mouth formed a playful smile.

Moonbay raised her eyebrows at him, "I could find something. . ." She brought her lips to his and they kissed. When they parted, Moonbay laughed and grabbed Irvine's hand, leading him away. "Come on, we have to get back."

"But, I am just fine right here." Irvine pretended to whine, but chased after Moonbay's laughing form. Quickly, he caught up to her and scooped her up in his arms. While walking back to the town, Irvine fought a struggling Moonbay who was trying to escape his firm grip. Setting her down firmly, he stated, "You can't break free. I win."

"You think you won the war? That was only a battle." She flipped her hair in his face and smiled. "I'm hungry, let's go eat and check up on everyone." The pair continued onto the hanger with Irvine taunting Moonbay playfully. Upon reaching the hanger, Vicky, Van, Fiona, and Herman stepped out.

Herman cleared his throat and said, "We have a plan to capture the Geno Saurer and hopefully solve this mystery."

"Well what is it?" Irvine demanded. "Van, what you doing now?"

Van looked at Irvine, "Not what I'm doing. The proper question is 'What are you doing'."

"What the hell you talking about?" Irvine searched the faces of all the present group members. "I have no part in this."

Rob Herman stepped forward and said, "Actually, you and your Zoid are the only way we can do anything."

The Saix's pilot's eye narrowed and he almost yelled, "So you're saying that you want me to hunt the Geno Saurer?"

"That was the main idea." Van tossed a rolled up paper into Irvine's hands and said, "You're the only one who can."

...end...

Woo. Ack, not sure if I like this chapter. -- But I had to write something. Anyways, reviews are welcome and appreciated as always. Well, until next time! -randomcat23


	9. His Turn

I think the story is winding down; should be over in a few more chapters. But what do I know? Anyways, mucho gracias to all reviewers! (Much thanks!) You people make me so happy.

**MagCat**: Yep, it's Irvine's time to shine. Um, yea, I was thinking about putting in some Raven/Reese but I wasn't sure of all their personality traits and quirks. I have forgotten a lot of things. (Runs off to read some R/R fics.) Thanks for the review and I'll keep you posted.

**HanyouWolfe**: BROWNIES! (Munch munch) Thankies! Lol. I'm glad I'm keeping everyone IC. You'll have to let me know if anyone goes off into OOC-la-la-land. Thanks again! You're awesome!

**Midnight Blue Star**: Thanks so much for your wonderful review! You rock.

**Katt**: Woot! We click! Yep, Kyo rocks my sox! Yea, I love s-CRY-ed, but I haven't even watched the whole thing yet! And thanks for the anime suggestion. I'm always looking for a new one to try out! But anyways, thanks for the review!

**IrvineSano**: Lol, I understood what you were saying in the first review, but no problem. Thanks for your review; they're always encouraging.

Disclaimer: Nope, don't own Zoids. But I own this nifty computer into which I put my ideas and out pops this story.

(...Chapter 9...)

Irvine clenched the piece of paper and glared at the officers in front of him. Finding no words to say, he unrolled the scrap of paper and looked it over. It contained a detailed overview of the plan the army drew up. Reading the writing carefully, Irvine came to understand the ideas. Basically, the army would form a large barrier around the city limits. Zoids would stand no more than 10 meters apart; a large unpassable fence. This, hopefully, would trap the Geno Breaker, and it would only be a matter of time before it could be shot down.

To complete the plan, Irvine and his Lightning Saix would stay in the middle and chase down, fight, and destroy the rouge zoid. "Why me and the Saix?"

"Because, your Zoid is the only one fast enough to catch the Geno Breaker as long as it has the artifacts attached to its body." Van pointed at the crude drawing. "You will the only one able to keep up."

Irvine stopped him, "No, I fought that thing the other day and I was no match for its speed. Not even the Saix can keep up with the thing."

Van looked at him, "Well this is where we need your cooperation."

Irvine raised an eyebrow and Van corrected himself. "Well, this is where we want more of your cooperation. We were hoping you would allow us to place a artifact on the Saix just for the battle, so that your speed would surpass that of the Geno Breaker. The Geno Breaker would be drawn to the artifact on your Saix and therefore bring it out of hiding."

Staring at the officers, Irvine weighed his options. Shrugging he began, "Are there any after effects of using the artifacts?"

Herman shook his head, "Not as far as we know. As long as the pilot is capable and knows how to use it, nothing is effected. The bandits were unsuccessful there; but I doubt you will be."

The Saix's pilot pondered his answer. For some reason, the old woman, Nami, popped into his head and repeated what she had said to him, something about how he's not met to be just a mercenary. . . . Shaking the image out of his mind, Irvine spoke, "Well, in that case, I'll do your assignment but, I want to be paid for this. My services don't come without a price."

Herman was dumbstruck, "You want paid for saving the city?"

"Hell yeah, I didn't ask to be the hero. And don't the officers get paid for actions? I may not be an official part of the army, but sure as hell, it feels like I am. We can discuss the amount later. Right now I have other obligations." And with that Irvine turned, walked away from the group and headed for the hanger. Moonbay followed, wanting to here his thoughts.

Irvine's face displayed a smirk as he opened the door and stepped into the shaded building. Returning to the kitchen he pulled out a beer and a plate of leftovers out of the fridge and sat down. Moonbay walked in after him and did the same. "You're actually going to go with this Irvine? Just an hour ago you were complaining about this whole mission."

He looked up and swallowed. "I changed my mind. Or, I realized I do care enough to help the army out. They were basically pleading with me to cooperate and now I get paid for this." He laughed. "Herman's face was priceless."

"Always obsessing over money, aren't you?"

"Not always, Moonbay." He gave her a sideways glance as he got up, left the dirty dishes on the table, and moved into the living room. She sighed and walked along with him. Irvine had seated himself on the couch, leaning back with his eye closed. Moonbay, suddenly feeling sneaky, snuck behind him and untied his red bandana. His hand caught her wrist, without him turning around. "Moonbay why do you insist on taking everything off my head?"

Moonbay giggled, "Because it annoys you." She tried to escape his grasp but it proved impossible. "Irvine, let go."

"And if I don't? What's the almighty Moonbay gonna do about it?" His free hand attempted to find the bandana but, Moonbay ducked and dodged.

"I'm not giving it back."

"Hah." He snorted and gripped her other arm. Flipping her over the back of the couch in one fluid movement she landed on his lap. He laughed at her and the scowl that formed on her face. "Don't be mad at me, Moonbay. You asked for it."

"And you asked for this," she leaned to his face as if she was going to kiss him, but slapped him over the head instead. While he was recovering, she got up and run across the room, still holding the bandana proudly. "Almighty Moonbay has done it again!"

Irvine gave her a death glare and jumped up off the couch. He run around the room to Moonbay, snaked his arm around her waist, and held both wrists in one hand. The Saix pilot then proceeded to bring her hand with the bandana in it to his mouth take back the stolen article with his teeth and released her. "Never again."

"Irvine you're no fun." Moonbay pretended to pout.

"Sounds like a personal problem." As he finished his sarcastic remark he tied the bandana around his head and gave it a tug.

Moonbay walked over and laughed. She wrapped his arms around her and rested her head on his chest. "Do me a favor, ok? Be careful with that mission they're giving you. I know I'll have to be there too, but you're in the middle of it all."

His grey eyes rested on her. "Don't worry so much about me. It'll be over before it starts." Lifting her head he caught her own eyes. "Then we can finally get out of here."

Moonbay lifted her hand to trace his jaw line. "That's a promise you must keep."

"Yeah, yeah. Don't think too much of it." He walked back toward the couch.

Moonbay, scowled at him and decided to take matters into her own hands. She walked up to him, stood on her toes and pressed her lips to his. His warm lips responded and kissed her back, a smirk forming on them. At that moment Van, Fiona, and Vicky barged into the room. Van with a amazed look on his face, Fiona smiling, and Vicky laughing. The couple broke apart and glared at the trio. The result was a yelling contest.

"What the hell is your problem, Van!" Irvine yelled at the younger man.

"When the hell did you guys get together!"

"Why does it matter!" Irvine shot back. "Are you keeping track of our personal lives!"

"Van calm down. We said it would probably happen anyway right?" Fiona said.

Van regained his composer, "Yeah, well it was just surprising."

"Well, since you took so long to get here, you missed a few things." Irvine said simply.

"It wasn't exactly our fault we were late. Herman gave orders."

Vicky stepped in. "Ha, about that. I was the one who asked Herman to have you guys disappear on side missions. I knew these guys," she indicated Irvine and Moonbay, "had something for each other. And I thought if you guys showed up I figured it might screw up the chance of a get together."

The four of them looked at her, "REALLY?" They all said in unison.

"Yea, it didn't do any harm. The bandits needed to be caught anyway before we could proceed with catching the Geno Breaker and that was the reason the army was coming so, I figured I could persuade Dad to keep Van and Fiona busy."

"It all makes sense now." Van nodded his head, thinking.

"You've got to be kidding me, Vicky." Moonbay stared in disbelief. "You got Herman to surrender to your will?"

"Of course! It's easy once you give him the pleading eyes and the whole: 'You'll be the best dad in the whole, wide, world' speech. Anyways, sorry to burst your bubbles but we should be getting into bed. It all starts tomorrow. And now I have to go locate Shiro; that guy sure is good at disappearing." She ran off yelling Shiro's name at the top of her lungs, hoping to have him crawl out of a hole or something.

From outside, the four of them heard: "DAMN IT WOMAN!" Shiro's raging voice echoed, "I'M RIGHT HERE, SHUT UP!"

"Well, if you didn't hide under a rock every time we stopped talking to you, I wouldn't have to scream your name." Vicky answered.

"What do you want anyway?" Shiro regained his steady tone.

"You gotta . . ." Vicky and him walked away toward the army tents and the conversation was out of earshot.

"They would make an interesting couple." Van said thoughtfully. Moonbay and Fiona nodded in agreement as Irvine rolled his eyes.

Van and Fiona said their good-nights. Van glanced at Irvine and Moonbay, tilting his head in thought. "Van. Go. Away." In response to Irvine's demand, the Blade Ligar pilot ran off after Fiona.

Moonbay laughed and looked back at Irvine. He was stretching his arm out and then flexed his hands. Turning his grey eyes to hers he said, "I guess I'm going to turn in too."

Moonbay nodded and said her good-nights. But not before running up behind him and placing a kiss on his cheek. She glanced back at him as she turned back toward her own room to see him giving her a death glare. The transporter girl laughed and went to bed.

(...Morning...)

As soon as the sun peaked over the horizon, everything was set into action. Irvine, Moonbay, Van, and Fiona all sat around the kitchen table eating a breakfast of bacon and eggs. Vicky stood by the sink washing dishes. Shiro sat in a corner with his eyes closed. Nobody talked. A knock came at the door and Herman walked in, dressed for battle. Everyone in the room got up and walked outside. Herman gave the last of the orders as the officers took their places.

Irvine glanced at the sky. Not a cloud in sight; it was pure blue. _"Kinda ironic, isn't it?"_

Van chatted with Herman and then he and Fiona raced off to the Blade Ligar, who waited patiently beside a building. Vicky had disappeared into her hanger and returned in her Command Wolf. The Zoid ran around the building and sprinted off to it's position in the wall.

Moonbay glanced at Irvine. He looked back at her, "It'll be interesting trying to find the damn thing. I can't even see the border of the 'Zoid wall'". Sounds too much like hide and seek to me." Moonbay nodded, searching the area. _"All the townspeople must have been ordered to stay indoors."_

Herman called for the two of them and gestured for them to meet him. He stood next to a tall Republic officer with the same rank as Herman himself. His black hair was trimmed short and he had a sarcastic-looking smile. He had a pair of odd colored eyes; they were golden in color with specks of red. The officer also gave off a commanding presence.

"Before we head off, I thought you should meet General Alex Kuro. He's been trying to find the person who hired and organized the bandits."

Kuro nodded and smiled. "Didn't have much luck though." His conversation subject quickly changed, "But, is it true that you are the mercenary with the rare, powerful Lightning Saix? It must be nice having such a great Zoid. The army gave it to you even though you are not a officer?"

Irvine narrowed his eye. "Yeah. It's just great." The Saix's pilot was wary of this general. "But if you'll excuse me, I'm expected else where." As he turned to go, Irvine placed a single hand on Moonbay's shoulder, pausing for a moment. He caught her eyes for a second and left.

Moonbay looked back at Herman and Kuro. "Where am I posted, Herman?" He then pointed and gave the last directions. Moonbay walked off toward her Zoid. _"What will this day bring? And how are we going to find the bandit organizer?"_

(...Over with Irvine...)

As Irvine arrived at his Zoid, Shiro stood against its leg with a serious look on his face. "I have the artifact for your Zoid. If you'll just get in, we can continue with this." Irvine nodded and the Saix lowered its head. Irvine strapped himself in and looked at Shiro.

"Move into the Zoid wall. And then I'll put the artifact in place."

Gripping the controls, Irvine ran the Lightning Saix into the border. Shiro soon followed in his own Zoid. Jumping out, Shiro walked up to the Saix. Irvine lowered the Saix's body and Shiro climbed up onto its back. Placing the artifact in a secure spot, Shiro noticed how it seemed to fit perfectly around the Lightning Saix's parts. With the job done, he dropped and nodded to Irvine. Irvine nodded back and closed the cockpit.

Taking a deep breath, Irvine started up the Zoid and quickly noticed how fluid the controls were. The response was unbelievable. Outside, Shiro watched the stabilizers and gears glow for a second and then resume regular color. It's eyes glowed bright orange. The Saix gave a roar as Shiro jumped into his Zaber Fang.

An adrenaline rush came over Irvine. His hands were tight on the controls as he waited for Herman's command. _"I can't wait to see what the Saix can do now."_ He smirked, excitement taking over.

With a beep, Herman's face popped up on the communication screen and said, "We're ready when you are."

"Then let's go." Irvine turned the controls and the Zoid raced off with unbelievable speed and control. He raced around rock formations and canyons all the way to the city limits and turned around again. The force of the speed pushed Irvine straight back into his chair. Trying out the gun, he shot a large boulder cluster, blowing them all into sand grain size. Irvine then turned on the speed boosters and within seconds was at the other end of the wall. Amazed, Irvine breathed out and laughed.

"The Geno Breaker doesn't have a chance in hell."

(End Chapter 9)

Alrighty, you guys know what to do! Click that button down there and review! It's much appreciated!

Until next time. . .

randomcat23


	10. The Terror Ended

And here we stand at chapter 10! Yay. (Second to last chapter.)

**MagCat**- Wootness! Thanks a bunch. Lol. Shiro/Vicky? I sure was planing on it! We'll see how far the relationship gets in this fic. . .

**AntiMusicMan**- Glad you liked the mixture of everything, it's hard getting a balance between all aspects of the fic.

**IrvineSano**- I'm so glad the I/M scenes are 'real'. I didn't want to sap-the-crap out of them. Thankies.

**secretperson-ShadowLiger**- Thanks for the nice review. I do plan on putting lots more fluff; maybe not in this fic, but in the sequel. (Seeing that this fic is coming to a close)

**HanyouWolfe**- Yay for your review! thankies bunches.

**The-Fiona**- Aw thankies! You reviewed every chapter in one review! Sweet. Yes, as you can see I fixed the 'large paragraph problem' with the dialogue. Thanks for telling me though. Glad you like it!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own zoids. But I do own some nice, orange, fuzzy, slippers.

(Chapter 10)

An hour had passed since the beginning of the operation. The rouge Zoid still hadn't shown itself, nor had anyone found it.

Van drummed his fingers and stared at the radar. He half expected it to go off yet, it remained silent. He would complain but, this was one of those missions that required patience and reflexes as quick as a cat. The Blade Liger's pilot suddenly realized he wasn't doing a good job at having either qualities.

(...>...>...>...>...)

Gripping the controls with one hand and propping her head up with the other, Vicky waited. Her body was tense but her eyes drooped. She had watched Irvine run past a few times and was amazed at the power the Lightning Saix had gained. _"Let's just hope it's enough to take down the Geno Breaker."_ She scanned the surrounding area. Nobody had moved out of position; the wall held strong. Even Raven showed up with Reese and her Zoid.

The sun had just passed the noon point when her communication screen beeped. "Not sleeping are you?" Shiro asked.

"Of course not. Who could be in a time like this?" She noticed his body's position. "What are you doing? You wanna get yourself killed?"

With his arms linked behind his head and his body in a lax position, he raised an eyebrow at her. "Whatever."

Vicky made a face. "When do you think this will be over? Isn't it odd that the Geno Breaker hasn't shown up yet?"

"Maybe." He looked at her. "Put it this way. Do these army operations ever go the way you want them to?"

She laughed slightly, "No, I suppose they don't." She ran a hand absentmindedly through her hair. "How do you think that Irvine will fare in this battle?"

Shiro flexed his hand. "Well, I have no idea how good that guy is; I've never seen him fight before." He paused, "But I do know that the bandits fixed up the Geno Breaker with multiple artifacts before we caught them all. It's going to be an extremely difficult battle for anyone with the added strength. So if General Herman thinks Irvine is up to the job, then I'd say we have nothing to worry about."

(...>...>...>...>...)

The Saix made another loop around the area and yet again found nothing. Irvine's body was alert and read to take action. As he slowed the zoid to a walk, Herman's face appeared on the screen.

Herman gave a command, "Take a look around the rock formations. It might be hiding in one of the caves. I was afraid it might come to hide and seek, but give it a shot."

"Sure." And the Saix leaped off to the rocks, heading closer toward the center of the circle; closer to Blackfire itself.

Veering off to the left, Irvine passed the city and right up to the ominous grouping of desert rock. The rock was jagged in most places and stretched out for over two miles. It hooked around the city in a crescent shape but, never came closer than hundred yards to the buildings.

The Saix walked into one of the many pathways in-between the rocks, hardly fitting. Irvine frowned. _"It'll be hard to fight in a place like this. How the hell did a big bulky Zoid like the Geno Breaker get in here?" _Lifting his head, Irvine looked up and around trying to find a possible hiding space for the red zoid. Nothing but steep, cave-less walls. At the opening ahead of him, the walls spread out creating a small arena shaped clearing. It was about the size of two zoids across and maybe three zoids long.

His senses alert, Irvine gripped the controls tightly and stepped into the clearing. His eye traced the edges of the area; only smooth, rocky walls met his glance. Shrugging, Irvine decided to move on as a shadow passed over head and made a loud _crash-thunk_. "Dammit." Irvine spun the Lightning Saix around as quick as possible to face the 'shadow'. His eyes widened in surprise and he took in a breath.

Silver claws stretched out, reaching for the Saix. The large red body moved as it's large, powerful legs took a step closer. The Geno Breaker's gleaming eyes focused on its target and let out a roar. It's toothy mouth almost seemed to form a grin. A sick, predator grin. The artifacts attached to its body faintly glowed, slightly giving away their positions.

Irvine frowned as he tried to watch the red zoid as well as find an escape. _"I won't be able to fight in here, even with the power boost the Saix has. I just caged myself in. Dammit."_

The Geno Breaker had no time to sit there and wait for its prey to escape. It wanted the artifact on its back and was prepared to do anything to get it. The more artifacts the better; it meant more power. The red demon readied an attack and struck out at the awaiting zoid.

Thrusting the controls forward, Irvine took a chance and had the Saix leap clear over the Geno Breaker's head and clawed at the wall. The Lightning Saix's claws dug into the rock and began to climb. The plan was to have the Geno Breaker follow him out into the open. And Irvine had hunch that the Geno Breaker would follow him to the ends of the planet for the artifact.

Upon reaching the top, the Saix jumped off the rock walls and down behind it. An aggravated roar echoed through the area as the Geno Breaker hovered above the clearing and came down in front of the Saix. Irvine was now in-between a wall and a pitiless monster. _"Now that we're on the opposite side of the city, the real battle can begin."_

Irvine needed agility, strength and every single ounce of skill in his body to pull this off. Tightening his hold on the controls, the Saix leaped and aimed for the Geno Breaker's neck. In a quick reaction, the enemy zoid swung its mighty claws out at the Saix's head. The Lightning Saix's head swerved to the right, dodging the would-be-fatal attack and managed to scrape the armor on the Geno Breaker's face. Scratch marks ran from the eye to the lower neck as Irvine landed and turned to face the angered zoid. Smirking slightly, he shut off the communication screen (no need for distractions) and launched another attack from behind.

Rage filled the red zoid's eyes and it swung its tail at the Saix and sent it flying. Dust flew everywhere as Irvine's zoid landed on its side. He shook his head and dodged another attack and then retaliated. A shot rang out over the land as a piece of artifact fell off the Geno Breaker's leg, causing it to loose balance. Unable to admit defeat, it shot at the Saix, but missed as the Saix's amazing speed carried its body to a safe distance.

"_I'll have to finish this quickly." _Irvine thought, breathing hard. _"Only five more artifacts to go."_ He prepared to attack again, eager to dig the Lightning Saix's claws deep into the Geno Breaker's body. He was ready to destroy the damn thing, even if he would have to listen to Raven's complaints and wrath later. _"Let's finish this."_

By that time, the Geno Breaker was on his feet once again and anchored its feet to the dry desert ground. Irvine's eyes widened in shock as the enemy prepared to fire a charged particle beam. _"How does it expect to hit me when I have the speed that I do?" _He looked at it again and swore."Dammit." The Geno Breaker shot with ease, missed and yet was ready to fire again. "Damn all artifacts to hell," Irvine spat as he dodged again. "They give the Geno Breaker too much power."

Lifting his head in surprise, he watched the Geno Breaker cut off its attack and sprint away in the opposite direction. "Where the hell does it think it's going?" He pushed the Lightning Saix forward and within seconds caught up with escaping zoid. By this time they were close enough to the zoid wall to make anyone nervous. The Geno Breaker stopped, meters away from the wall and let out an annoyed growl. How dare they try and stop its rampage!

(...>...>...>...>...)

Her Command Wolf growled as Vicky's eyes widened when she spotted the Geno Breaker charging. Grabbing the seat belts, she quickly strapped herself in and pulled up Shiro on her screen. "You better be awake over there Shiro."

"Please, like I would actually pass up a chance like this." His Saber clawed the ground restlessly. "When do we get to attack?" He asked eagerly.

"As soon as Herman gives the command. Irvine is already on top of things so, we just play 'the wall' until something actually goes wrong." She bit her lip, distressed at the fact that she couldn't do anything right now.

Shiro's ever-calm voice broke her silence. "Call up your other friends. Make sure they're not sleeping." His voice dripped with sarcasm.

Vicky licked her lips. "They aren't the kind of people who would."

"Oh, so it was only me who would fall asleep?" A slightly amused smirk formed on his face.

"Yeah."

(...>...>...>...>...)

Van and Fiona sat in the Blade Ligar watching Irvine battle the Geno Breaker. The speed and power of the battle was insane. It was unnatural for anything to be like that. Van was amazed that the zoids didn't fall apart from so much power coursing through their bodies. Fiona laid a gentle hand on his shoulder and he gripped it with a grin.

Fiona's worry increased as soon as she saw the rampaging Geno Breaker. _"Why would it suddenly charge the wall? None of us have any artifacts. The Lightning Saix is its opponent."_ She continued to mull this thoughts over in her mind and mentally prepared herself for the possibility that the Geno Breaker would try and destroy the wall.

(...>...>...>...>...)

The Lightning Saix rammed the Geno Breaker and dug it's teeth deep into the side armor. The black zoid's back legs anchored itself to the ground as it ripped another artifact off the enemy's body. The Geno Breaker's eyes glowed with fury and it brought its arm down on the Saix's head, pinning it to the ground. Irvine pushed the controls quickly and released himself from the red demon's grasp. _"I have to get it away from everyone. It's to dangerous to have it running around here."_ He charged the Geno Breaker again, knocking it back several yards.

The Geno Breaker seemed prepared for this because it then shot quickly, tearing off the leg armor on the Saix's front right leg. Irvine frowned in disgust and launched another attack, head-butting the Geno Breaker. The two zoids slowly moved away from the wall and closer to the rock canyons and natural walls.

Irvine could feel the Saix's pain. It responded as quickly as in the beginning but he could tell its body ached. The same could be said for him. The mercenary's head throbbed and his arms protested against movement. Ignoring all aches and pains, Irvine chased after the Geno Breaker once more.

The Geno Breaker continued to dodge all of the Saix's shots. It, on the other hand, made an increasing amount of shots and roared in delight. It seemed his opponent was slowing down. The sooner the better. Another artifact would soon be in its claws. Of course, recollecting the artifacts that the Saix ripped off would happen after the battle was over and the Saix remained on the ground, lifeless.

Using its speed the Lightning Saix raced around the artifact-infused zoid and landed another shot on an artifact. It shattered and the pieces fell to the ground disappearing forever into the sandy dust. "Three more to go." Irvine smirked as the Geno Breaker let out anther cry.

It's rage was increasing and the Geno Breaker grew tired of the Saix's threats. Once again the two battling zoids were against the rock wall that separated them from the city on the other side. Turning its head quickly the Geno Breaker saw it's tail swish against the rocks. It turned back to the Lightning Saix and sneered.

Irvine was breathing hard and his arms started to shake. _"How much longer can my body withstand this?"_ He leaned forward and shot at the wild zoid, hitting it dead on. While it stood confused, Irvine tackled it once again and slashed and clawed at any part of the Geno Breaker that he could get his hands on. At such close range the Geno Breaker was at a disadvantage, so this was the most reasonable way to attack the powerful creature. The Saix crushed a few more pieces of armor, leaving the Geno Breaker with only its head and tail fully protected.

A sudden movement from the enemy, however, took Irvine off guard and the raging Geno Breaker pinned the Saix to the ground on its side. Irvine was slammed around in the cockpit, even with the seat belts tightly fastened. He felt a sticky liquid, blood, begin to trail down his face. Other cuts and bruises appeared all over his body.

The Geno Breaker loved its new place as the dominator of this battle. The Saix was in a helpless position, stuck on its side. The red zoid's silver claws dug deeper into the Lightning Saix's smaller body. It remained in the Geno Breaker's deathly grasp, no matter how much it attempted to squirm. Its head rose as the zoid prepared to finish the Saix off for good. A simple bite on its back where the artifact was in-place would do the trick.

Irvine wracked his brain, looking for ideas. If he didn't move soon, this would be the end. The end of all the hard work that he hated but did anyway. And of course the Geno Breaker would then be able to rampage through the whole area, causing destruction and collecting more and more artifacts. His eyes looked sideways and the rock wall caught his eye. An idea struck him, "If I can just, angle the gun. . .it would fire at the rock wall, hopefully causing a rockslide, burying us both." Breathing hard and thinking of the consequences, he said, "There's no other way." Jamming the gun control swiftly he made one last attempt to destroy the Geno Breaker. The gun angled at the Geno Breaker's head and he shot.

The Geno Breaker saw the gun's movement and gripped the Saix tighter. As the shot echoed over the area the zoid moved its head out of the way and growled at the attempt to destroy its body. It would give the Saix points for being persistent. Time to finish off the opponent. It leaned forward to take a bite but the sound of rocks made the Geno Breaker turn its head.

Thousands of large, tumbling boulders crashed down the side of the wall and were headed straight for the two zoids bodies. The mercenary smirked slightly. The plan did work and even better, it was too late for the Geno Breaker to escape. He awaited the impact with a sigh. Would he even get out of this alive?

The impact of the rocks came all to quickly for both zoids. They slammed, battered, and smashed the two enemies, piling up over the bodies. Armor flew off the zoids in pieces and the sound of metal against rock was all that they heard. The Geno Breaker made one last attempt to flee but was crushed under the weight of the rocks. Both zoids were buried within seconds.

(...>...>...>...>...)

Herman looked up when he heard a loud crashing noise. He brought up several people on the communication screen and tried to find out what happened. Nobody knew. It seemed, whatever happened, was smack-dab in the middle of the area, right around Blackfire. "If you find out anything, let me know." He gave the order and soldiers on the screen saluted and turned them off. Herman sighed. "Irvine, what are you doing?"

(...>...>...>...>...)

Vicky stared at her screen as Moonbay's face popped up. "You've seen anything, Moonbay?"

"Not a bit." Moonbay frowned. "And Irvine blocked us all, so nobody can get any kind of message from him."

Her blond friend lowered her eyes. "So, we have a dilemma. Do we stay in formation or do we try and figure out what happened?" Vicky cracked her knuckles. "I hate this." Her gaze looked out over the land.

"Same here." Moonbay leaned back in her seat. _"Irvine."_

(...>...>...>...>...)

Black. Darkness. His eyes saw nothing. Irvine's body wouldn't move. His whole self felt battered and broken. Even without opening his eyes, he knew he must look like crap. The smell of blood floated through the air. "Aw, hell." His arms wouldn't respond. He flinched at the smallest movement. It was over. The radar was busted but, Irvine could tell nothing was moving outside. The Geno Breaker's reign of terror was over.

Even the cushion on his seat didn't take away the aching feeling in his head. His body was limp and helpless. Too tired to do anything, Irvine drifted into an uneasy slumber.

(...>...>...)

_His ears picked up a loud and powerful roar. Irvine's eyes snapped open, taking in his new surroundings. "Heaven or hell?" His body still wouldn't move; he remained motionless and the pain remained. "Hell." For whatever reason, he laughed. He was still in the cockpit of the Saix, and yet he wasn't. Still he listened for the roar again. "Looks like I failed. The Geno Breaker escaped." Yet he knew that was wrong as soon as he said it. He wasn't awake, yet he felt awake. He was in the cockpit, yet he wasn't at the same time. "What the hell?"_

_Suddenly the rocks were removed from the Lightning Saix's body and it was up on its feet. Irvine looked out, bewildered, and his eyes widened._

_The Panthra X-5, legendary zoid of Blackfire, stood in front of the Saix in all its glory. Its eyes gleamed an unearthly glow, its claws shined. It let out a roar again, and Irvine realized that was the roar he woke up to. _

_As the Panthra's roar faded away, the Saix regained its former strength. Irvine felt it rebuild around him. The armor returned, new as ever. Ammo was restored. The over all body of the Saix became better than it was when the battle began. _

_Irvine looked at the Panthra again and it disappeared. "Always protecting Blackfire, I see." The Saix roared in agreement._

(...>...>...)

Irvine shook his head suddenly and opened his eyes. The Saix was in perfect condition, and it was out of the rock pile. Turning his ever-faithful zoid around, he saw the pile of boulders and small specks of red where the Geno Breaker was buried."Go figure." Irvine said in shock. So there really was a Panthra X-5 watching over the city after all. Irvine smirked again. The battle was finally over.

The moment was ruined by a sudden rumbling coming from the rock pile. Rocks were sliding down off the pile and more red emerged. The Geno Breaker leaped out of the pile and shook off the rest of the dust and pebbles.

"It doesn't know when to die." Irvine gripped the controls and noticed that the Geno Breaker had lost two artifacts in the rockslide. All that was left was the one on its head. "Perfect." He prepared to attack. Now was the time to finish it. The Geno Breaker's body, however, was not in the same condition as the Lightning Saix's. It was worn and busted. Irvine grinned. One final blow was all that was necessary. The Geno Breaker, however, was hardly willing to give up the fight.

Tired of playing games, Irvine ran at the enemy as it prepared to fight back. The Saix leaped high in the air and stretched out its claws. The Saix came down, its eyes glaring, and slashed the Geno Breaker's head, sending the last artifact flying. Irvine landed and with one final shot, the Geno Breaker fell with a defeated roar. Its almost armor-less body crumpled to the ground, officially ending the long battle.

Irvine breathed out a long breath. He leaned back in the cockpit, still dripping blood and carrying bruises. His eyes closed and he mentally thanked the legendary zoid. Without it, the Geno Breaker's defeat would not have been accomplished. After a moment, Irvine turned on the communication screen and pulled up Herman. Staring at the General Irvine stated, "It's done."

(...>...>...)

Moonbay smiled and turned off the communication screen. Herman just relayed the newsthat Irvine and the Lightning Saix had finally defeated the Geno Breaker. She let out a sigh of relief. All their hard work finally paid off. They could finally go home together. The transporter girl pushed a button and the cockpit opened. She jumped out and jogged over to Van, Fiona, Vicky and Shiro. Now all they had to do was wait for Irvine.

"I knew he could do it." Van said happily with his arm around Fiona's waist.

Before anyone else could talk, the Lightning Saix came into view and stopped a few yards in front of them. Moonbay covered her eyes with her hand as dust flew everywhere.

The Saix's cockpit opened slowly and the zoid dropped to the ground. Irvine climbed out only to be met with cheers. Gingerly, he made his way down flinching at every move. His foot landed on the ground and he laid a hand on the Saix's leg. A smile crept on his face and he turned to face the crowd of officers and his friends.

Moonbay rushed to his side, her hair flying in the wind. Her gentle eyes looked Irvine over and she placed a soft hand on his injured head. She felt the dry blood and several bumps but, he caught her hand before she could ridicule him or worry. "Stop it. I'm fine and the Geno Breaker is finally defeated."

It was as if hearing it from Irvine meant more than Herman saying it himself. Right after Irvine finished his sentence the crowd broke out in cheers again and congratulations. More officers jumped out of their zoids and joined the celebration. The whole scene was filled with people patting each other on the back and talk of the whole operation being a success.

Van pulled Fiona close to him and planted a kiss on her lips. She hugged him back and the two walked back to the Blade Liger with their hands around each other.

Caught up in the moment, Vicky cheered and hugged the nearest person which happened to be Shiro. His arms encircled her body but, his face remained blank. Vicky looked up, blinked, and realized what she just did. She immediately let go of the white haired pilot, turned away and walked stiffly toward her dad, hoping Shiro wouldn't remember the embarrassing moment.

Moonbay laughed and watched Vicky walk away, leaving Shiro with an amused look on his face. Irvine brought her closer to him and she laid her head on his broad shoulder. She quickly thought over all the events that happened in the last few days: the battles, the surprises, Irvine. . . Her head was tilted up by his hand and she looked into his grey eyes.

He brought his lips to hers and wrapped his arms around her tighter. This kiss made all the battle bruises, injuries and frustrations worth it. Irvine pulled back and ran a hand through her dark hair, watching her face intently.

"Come here Irvine." Moonbay said, pulling bandages out of her pocket and holding them up in front of his face. "You need some medical attention."

"For what? These wounds are nothing." His eyes pretended to look innocent.

Moonbay shook her head and ignored his false statement. Her hand pressed against his chest, making him sit down on the Saix's front paw. He obeyed, sighing. "This won't take too long." Moonbay removed his headband and eyepatch to get a better look at the cut. A deep gash, though small, was bleeding right above his left eye. Her gentle hands wrapped the bandage around Irvine's bruised head and tied it to the side. Satisfied with her work she lifted up his arms and looked all over for anymore serious scratches. He swatted her hands aside.

"I'm not gonna die." He pulled her down next to him and kissed her again. "Looks like we can finally leave this place." His gaze watched the sunset to the west and he hugged her tighter. "You know what? I almost thought I'd be coming back here in a casket."

"Why do you say that?"

"Well, the Saix and I had an interesting. . .well. . .meeting with the Panthra X-5. . ." He retold every detail of the battle. Moonbay listened intently fitting the pieces of the puzzle together herself.

With his story done her thoughts spilled out, "We still have so much to do. If we can get back to the city and round up a few people I'm sure we could catch the guys behind this-"

Irvine cut her off with a laugh. "If you want to, you go. You, being the crazy transporter girl that you are. I have no desire to leave this spot at the moment. Let the bastard who did this run free. I don't care right now."

Moonbay narrowed her eyes, "What do you want to do right now?"

He glanced down at her with a superior look on his always cocky face. Truthfully, all he wanted to do right now was hold her tight, feel her small body against his. He wanted to taste her sweet lips; not worry about some guy who was probably too far away to do anything. His chuckle reached her ears as he whispered, "I'll do whatever I damn well please." And with that he stood up, staggering a bit and looked at Moonbay who sat on the Saix with her legs hanging. Irvine began to walk back toward the group of people who remained in the desert.

"You think you can just walk away from me, mercenary?" Moonbay's taunting voice called after him.

He paused, looked back and answered, "Yeah, I think I can." Irvine smirked at her. "But I suppose you could come if you wanted." His eyes closed, thoughtful and he gripped the headband and eyepatch in one hand. He placed them in his pocket, waiting for her response.

She smiled back and jumped down, and run up along side him. He stopped walking and picked her up, swinging her around once and kissed her fiercely on the lips and then he planted Moonbay on the ground. Her hands ran up and down his muscular arms as she pulled herself into his chest, crying happily.

Irvine watched the last of the sun's rays be swallowed up by the horizon. His arms cradled Moonbay's smaller body against his. "Now what are you crying for? It's over. Forget about it."

She looked at him with watery eyes and traced the scratches and cuts along his collar bone with one finger. Moonbay touched the bandages softly and dropped her hand. "You look horrible."

Irvine nearly fell over. "Talk about ruining the moment. If I look so horrible, how about helping the injured? Go get your damn zoid and drive me into town." He playfully pushed her in the direction of her Gustav. "Hurry up, let's help the 'horrible' looking guy over here." Irvine eyed her and smirked as he followed. Irvine gave directions to an officer about what to do with his Saix and then jumped into Moonbay's zoid. The two drove off back to the city, smiling and relieved that the day was over.

...END...

Wow, that was the longest chapter I have ever written, I think. Ten whole frickin' pages! Amazing. The next chapter will be up within a week after I return from vacation. As always, please read and review! Reviews make the fanfiction world go round, after all! Until next time! -randomcat23


	11. Epilogue

Here we stand at the end of Blackfire. What a long and twisted road we have traveled. This marks the completion of my first multi-chapter fic. Looking back now, I can say that I'm proud of it.

I would like to express my gratitude to all readers and reviewers. Whether you've been here since the beginning or this is the first time you ever read it, thank you a bunch. You guys kept me going. Special thanks to reviewers, whose words of encouragement sure mean a lot to me.

With the last chapter I received a total of 50 reviews! Thanks guys!

**MagCat:** Thanks for the nice review. Lol yeah, I figured since the fight scene was long we needed some good I/M moments and the S/V moment was for fun. Glad you liked them both.

**The-Fiona:** Sorry about the fight scenes (falls over) They personally aren't my favorites either. Thank you for the compliments though.

Oh, about the Irvine/Moonbay fics, you're right, there aren't very many. However, if you go to the 'search' area and type in Irvine and Moonbay you come up with around 20-30 fics. The only problems are that some just have their names in the summery and have nothing to do with them. Or, some of the older multi-chapter fics are left unfinished and I think they never will be finished. But, they're still fun to read. I hope this helps!

**IrvineSano:** Thanks so much! When I read your review I was like "You got it exactly!" It ever crossed my mind that Irvine would express his love openly, but hey, it's Irvine. We love him though, don't we?

Yes, yes! Get your story up soon! I really want to read it!

**Katt:** Thanks for the reviews and the fic recomendation. Who knows how long I've wanted to see Yuki smashed by Kyo. Lol. Glad you like this fic!

(...>...>...Break...>...>...>)

Sleep had overtaken Irvine the moment he reached his bed. The intensity of the day's battle took its toll and his body refused movement. He didn't even bother to change, and fell on the bed still dressed and covered in bandages. Irvine had no intention of rebellion against his body and instantly fell into a deep slumber.

Whatever was in store for him the next day could wait.

(Morning)

A figure tip-toed up the stairs and down the hallway, silent as the night. The whole building was quiet. One wrong move and the residents would be on you like bugs on a picnic. It sure took a lot of patience to make it this far; the stairs had a horrible habit of creaking when you didn't want them to. Upon reaching a closed door, the figure stopped, and reached for the handle.

Moonbay's hand turned the door's handle slowly, carefully, not wanting to make any sound at all. By pushing her body against the door, she made her way in the room without a noise escaping. Repeating the same process, she shut the door and turned to the inhabitant of the bed. Her eyes lit up and a smile crept on her face.

Irvine slept soundless with his mouth slightly open. His hair was tousled and the side of his head sat propped up on the pillows. One hand gripped the sheets as he shifted his position, still without a sound.

"Looks like his bandages remained in tack." Moonbay whispered to herself. Checking the clock, (10:30) she took a seat on the edge of the bed, on the opposite side of where Irvine snoozed. He continued to sleep peacefully even though she had intruded. "Poor Irvine, so much for being a light sleeper this time around. Yesterday really took it out of you." Her hand reached over and brushed his hair aside, taking in his features. _"I'm going to have to wake him up. Raven's looking to kill him."_ Moonbay stiffed a laugh and turned to gaze out the window.

Irvine shifted again. Moonbay glanced over her shoulder and grey eyes met her's. He was laying on his side, with one hand under his head. His eyes held her's as she rotated her body around to completely face him. Moonbay got off the bed and kneeled on the floor, coming down to his eye level.

"What are you doing up?" She teased.

Irvine squinted his eyes in the morning sun, "Kinda hard not to wake up when someone intrudes."

Moonbay stuck her tongue out at him. "So you knew I was in here all along?" She sounded amused.

"From the moment you touched the door."

Moonbay grinned, "Sorry 'bout that, but I do have a reason."

He rolled onto his back. "Oh?" His paused told her to continue.

"Raven finally got a look at the Geno Breaker's damage. Let's just say he's pissed beyond all believe." She rested her head on the edge. "He plans on 'pulverizing' you."

Irvine made no attempt to answer, but he, instead, sat up slowly and rolled his shoulders stiffly. Moonbay had thought that his body would be rather stiff. Those bruises would limit his movement for awhile. "And you came to warn me, I suppose?" He rubbed his eyes and stretched. "Where-"

He was cut off by a loud thumping and stomping noise outside the door which was soon followed by yelling.

"I'M GONNA KILL THE BASTARD!" Raven's commanding voice rang.

"It's not his fault, Raven." Van's voice was quieter, but no less angry.

"Don't even try and stop me, Van. He freaking TOTALED my zoid!"

"Like he had a choice! Not his fault the damn thing was infested with artifacts and too powerful for even you to handle." He breathed heavily, "Maybe the one you should be killing is the guy who put this whole plan together in the first place."

"Well, we don't know who's behind it do we?" Raven sneered.

Before Van could retort or before Raven could continue his ranting, a loud slam came from down the hallway and stomping came after. "What the hell are you two idiots doing!" Shiro shouted right outside Irvine's room. "Normal people are trying to sleep."

"Who the hell are you?" Raven spat.

Shiro raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms.

Van attempted to explain, "Well, Raven here wanted to kill Irvine and I tried to stop him and-"

"I wasn't looking for an answer, it was a rhetorical question." Shiro said.

Raven, at this time, regained himself and proceeded to Irvine's door in attempt to knock it down. Moonbay, who had guessed what was going on, leaped up and locked the door. An echoing slam reached everyone's ears as Raven charged the door, but was repelled. He fell on Van, and then both tumbled to the floor. Shiro looked down in disgust and sighed. His hands gripped Van's and Raven's shirts and dragged the two down the hallway. Raven continued to spit out threats to everyone present.

"I'LL KILL YOU ALL!."

"Shut up, asshole." Shiro retorted and continued to drag the two down the hallway and stopped at the top of the stairs. He picked both them up off the floor and with one man in each hand he tossed them down the stairs. A long, nasty, string of curses and threats followed Shiro back to his room, but he just ignored them all and slammed his door once again. Van and Raven got up, yelled a few more threats and exited to the kitchen; it was a much less dangerous place.

Moonbay sat on the bed laughing. "Those two never had a chance."

"That was highly amusing." Irvine threw back the covers, stood up and stretched some more.

"Should you really be moving around so much?"

Irvine smirked, "Like you could keep me locked in this room forever."

Moonbay gave a smirk of her own. "I could find a way."

Irvine chuckled and walked to the door. "Let's get some breakfast."

"No, I'm going to check your bandages first. We don't want you to spill blood all over the nice, clean, floors."

His hand retreated from the door, "Fine." Irvine sat down on the bed again. There was no way to escape Moonbay when she was in one of these moods.

Moonbay did the same, and placed herself right next to him. Her hands went to the bandage knot and she gently untied it. The strips of cloth fell into her hands and she set them aside. Her hand turned his head toward her, as she inspected his injuries. The most serious cut, the one above his left eye, still dripped blood. But the other injures remain closed. Moonbay was thankful for that.

Her finger lightly brushed a colorful bruise and Irvine flinched slightly. "Sorry." Her apologetic voice was the only sound in the room. Satisfied that he was healing, she produced clean bandages from her pocket and wrapped his head once again. "Looks like you'll live."

"Don't be so surprised." He studied her face. "I won't die that easily."

Moonbay laughed as his remark, "Sure, that's what they all say, and then you find them dead on the floor the next morning because they didn't listen to their doctors."

He put fake innocence in his voice, "But I always listen to you."

"Hah, you don't listen to anybody. The only things you ever do are the ones you feel like doing."

Irvine smirked, after all it was true. He threw an arm around Moonbay's shoulders and pulled her close. He whispered in her ear, "You're a smart girl, Moonbay. Too many people try and order me around, but it doesn't get them anywhere."

"Yeah, you're just a selfish jerk."

"You know me too well." He kissed her forehead and then stood up. "I'm hungry, let's go eat." He held out a hand and Moonbay was pulled off the bed. The two made their way downstairs and into the kitchen. Vicky, Shiro, Fiona, Van, Reese, and Raven all sat around at the table or on the counter stools. The moment Moonbay and Irvine walked in, Raven leapt at Irvine and started shouting again.

"You! I hope you have someway of paying for the damage to my Geno Breaker!"

Irvine rolled his eyes. "Why don't you just have Shadow fix it for you?"

The black haired teen answered, "Shadow is still recovering from the first attack the Geno Breaker made; the one where it almost destroyed Shadow!"

"I'm not paying for your zoid." Irvine took a seat and Moonbay waved a 'good morning' to Fiona, Reese, and Vicky. Irvine and Raven continued to argue and Van would add his own random comments which usually resulted in a shouting match between all three. Shiro sat quietly in a corner, sipping coffee and staring off into space.

Moonbay turned to the three women, "How long do you think this will last?" She jabbed a finger in the argument's direction.

Vicky and Fiona shrugged. Reese was the one to speak, "Knowing Raven, I'd say quite awhile." The four of them laughed. After a good twenty minutes Reese stepped between the three men and pulled Raven out. "I think we've over stayed our welcome." She turned to Raven, "Besides, General Herman wanted a word with you." With some pleading and pulling, Reese finally managed to get Raven to leave the kitchen.

Fiona sipped her coffee. "So now what?" She passed Moonbay a muffin, who buttered it and took a bite. Vicky watched and waited for a response to Fiona's question.

Van rubbed the back of his head, "I dunno." He looked over at Irvine. "Did you have a plan Irvine?"

The mercenary raised an eyebrow. "No. But I'm not staying around here. I've done my part. If the army wants to catch the guy who's behind this, then they can do it themselves." Moonbay glanced at him, knowing all along that his answer would be something like that.

Van hung his head. "I was afraid of that. Now it gets shoved over to me."

"That's what you get for joining the army." Irvine said simply.

Van frowned and sipped his coffee. Vicky chucked a muffin at his head and received a word of protest. "Actually," she started, "Nobody here is being assigned to find the culprit. That General Alex Kuro guy is on the case." She leaned back in her chair. "I guess that makes sense, since he was the one working on it in the first place."

"Has he got any leads?" Van asked eagerly.

"Not right now, but things should come up." Vicky shrugged and everyone nodded in agreement.

Irvine got up and dropped the mug into the sink. "Time to get paid."

"How much is Herman paying you anyway?" Van spoke up.

Irvine turned around and shrugged, "I dunno, but if it's not enough, I'll take my own amount." With that he walked out of the kitchen door to the outside.

The sun was already high in the sky as he took in a breath of fresh morning air. His eyes followed Raven and Reese as they jumped into Reese's zoid and took off. _"Looks like Herman came to an agreement with Raven about the Geno Breaker. Maybe now he'll get off my back about it." _While shoving his hands into his pockets, Irvine made his way over to Herman's tent and lifted up the flap.

"I thought you would be coming soon."

Herman sat at a desk with his arms crossed. He motioned for a chair and Irvine took a seat. "Heh, and I thought you would deny my payment." He stared at the papers sprawled across the desk. "Yet, we never did come to an agreement on the amount."

"Oh, yes. But first, I would like to congratulate you on your victory. It wouldn't have been possible without you and the Lightning Saix."

"Well, you can thank me by handing over the cash." He had no need to be formal with Herman, considering the fact that he wasn't in the army.

Herman raised an eyebrow. "Straight to the point, eh?" He paused and took a bundle of money out of the desk drawer and tossed it across the desk. "There it is. Take it or leave it. I'm not increasing the pay."

Irvine shrugged and picked up the cash, counting it. _"Heh, there's more here than I would have asked for." _He pocketed the money and stood up. "Well, thanks Herman." He extended his hand and Herman shook it.

"Nice job, once again. Too bad you aren't enlisted in the army. We could use more people like you."

"Don't preach to me, Herman. I never wanted to be in the army; mercenary work is too much fun." As he reached the exit, Irvine paused and asked, "How did you get Raven to leave without protest?"

"I simply agreed to have it fixed for him with no cost. After all, it wasn't his fault it was destroyed."

Satisfied with the answer, Irvine gave a slight wave, exited the tent and walked back over to the hanger.

The kitchen was empty, except for Vicky, when Irvine returned. "Everyone's in their rooms, packing." Vicky answered before he could ask. Irvine nodded and made his way to Moonbay's room. He knocked his knuckles on the door and opened it up slowly. And there was Moonbay, staring at a mirror, pulling up her hair.

"You know, you should leave it down every once in a while." He stood behind her and was playing with one of the loose stands of dark hair.

"And what do you know about hair?"

He looked at her 'matter-of-fact-ly', "Enough to say that I'd like to see you with your hair down once in awhile."

"So, you don't like it when I have my hair up." Moonbay made a puppy face and hit him playfully on the shoulder. "Jerk."

He rolled his eyes. "Women. You say a nice thing and they twist it to fit their own demonic ideas." Irvine took a seat on the bed and watched as Moonbay finished pulling her hair up. "You packed yet?"

Moonbay pointed to the empty bag on the bed, "Does it look like I'm packed?"

"No," he paused and his eyes followed her around the room, "But, maybe you should hurry up."

"I'm in no hurry." Moonbay picked up a few things and began to pack. Clothes and other belongings flew through the air and at the bed. Irvine caught a few things that were aimed at his head and tossed them into the bag.

"Watch where you're chucking those things," He yelled as he dodged a shoe.

"Aww, poor Irvine." A smiled played on her lips as she picked up the last objects and placed them in the bag. "All done!"

Irvine fell back on the bed. "You take too long to pack." He watched her out of the corner of his eye. "It's already past noon. I want to get going."

"And where are we going, Irvine? There is nowhere to go except back to the base."

"If that's the way you think, maybe I won't take you."

Her head turned quickly to face him. "Take me where?"

Irvine shrugged, "I dunno. Away from here. And with all the money Herman gave me, we won't have to work for awhile."

"Are you suggesting a vacation?"

"If you consider traveling aimlessly while having a good time a vacation, then yes, I'm suggesting a vacation."

Moonbay grinned widely and jumped next to Irvine. "No work, no responsibilities." She turned toward him, "Sounds like heaven." She snuggled closer, "Plus, I'll have the added bonus of being with you without interruptions."

A deep chuckle escaped Irvine's mouth as he snaked an arm around her body. "Yes, it's an added bonus, if you say so."

"Shopping sprees as well?"

"What!"

Moonbay looked at him innocently, "With all that money, and you won't treat me to a shopping spree? Think of all the goodies we could get!" She clasped her hands together to add emphasis. "We could eat out every night and stay in fancy hotels, I could get a new dress and-"

She was cut off and muffled by Irvine's hand covering her mouth. "Whose money do you think you'll be spending?"

Playing along with his game she pointed at him.

He nodded and continued, "Do you honestly think I want to go on shopping sprees?"

Moonbay shrugged and nodded 'yes.'

Irvine shook his head in protest. "Oh, no you don't. There is no way you're gonna get my cash and spend it on useless things." He removed his hand and sat up.

Moonbay got up as well with a little frown on her face. "Irvine, you just completely destroyed my shopping fantasy." She turned away and crossed her arms. "I can't believe you."

Irvine laughed again and grabbed her arm, but she brushed it way. They were both still playing with each other; annoying one another just happen to be a favorite game of both Irvine and Moonbay. "Well if you're gonna be like this I'm just going to have to leave." His body began to get up but Moonbay pulled him back down. He was now laying on his back while Moonbay pinned his upper arms down.

"I refuse to let you go anywhere without apologizing." Her eyes glared at his, but both people wore smirks on their faces. Moonbay blew her hair out of her face; looks like it didn't stay up after all.

Irvine managed to lift a hand and tuck the loose hair behind her ear. "Apologize? I did nothing wrong. You should be apologizing to me."

Her face continually lowered to his face. She felt his breath as it tickled her nose. "I'm never apologizing to you." Her whisper was the only noise in the room.

Irvine blinked. "Well then, get off me."

"What?"

"If you're not going to say you're sorry then release me." Her arms were no match for his strength, soon he began to sit up, throwing Moonbay off balance. She fought, however, and pushed him back down, pinning him once again against his will.

Irvine faked a coughed, "You should be more gentle with the injured." He was joking again; he knew Moonbay would never hurt him on purpose.

She rolled her eyes and looked at him fondly. _"Poor, poor Irvine. Sitting here absolutely defenseless against me. It's actually quite funny."_ Moonbay giggled at the thought.

"What's so funny know, Moonbay?"

A smile crept onto her face, "Just the whole idea of you being under my control."

Irvine narrowed his eyes, "Your control? I don't think so. If I was under your control I couldn't do this-" He sat up suddenly and pressed his lips to hers. Moonbay felt her grasp on his arms loosed as her hands wrapped around his neck instead. Irvine's arms were wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer to his body. The two fell back on the bed, completely absorbed in each other.

When they broke apart, Irvine stated, "See, if anything Moonbay, you're under my control."

"Please, don't flatter yourself." Her feet landed on the floor and her hand gripped the bag. "Ok, now we can leave."

(...>...>...Break...>...>...>)

Vicky and Shiro stood outside the hanger and watched Moonbay and Irvine pack up the Gustav. Van and Fiona walked over, ready to leave. "Looks like this is goodbye." Vicky said calmly, "You'll have to come visit sometime." She and Moonbay exchanged hugs. "Come and tell me all about your 'vacation'."

"I will." Moonbay smiled. _"It's kinda crazy how quickly everything went back to normal after the battle. I guess people were tired of being afraid."_

Van and Fiona said their goodbyes and hopped into the Blade Ligar. The group watched until the blue zoid was out of sight.

Moonbay sighed, "I guess this is it then. Hope to see you soon, Vicky."

"Same here!"

Irvine jumped into the Gustav and positioned himself comfortably in the back seat. Moonbay soon followed him, and strapped herself in. With one last quick glance of Blackfire she realized something and asked, "Shiro, what are you going to do now?"

Before the silent figure could open his mouth, Vicky answered for him, "Dad posted him here. He figured it was better than Shiro running around pointlessly." She glanced at him, but received no answer. Shrugging, Vicky turned and waved at Moonbay who shrugged back and closed the cockpit. Hands on the controls she maneuvered the pink zoid out of the city and off into the distance.

It seemed like an eternity had passed since the two of them arrived there, convinced that it was just a bandit hunt. And look what it turned into. Yet another world-threatening disaster.

Moonbay looked back at Irvine who caught her eye. "Are you going to sit back there the whole time, Irvine?"

"I just might. It's comfier than sitting up there."

Moonbay rolled her eyes at him once again. "What am I going to do with you?"

"Just about anything you like, as long as I give you permission."

"So, can I kick you out of my zoid?"

Irvine simply shook his head. "Afraid not." He closed his eyes, relaxing at last. Irvine stretched his arms and cracked his neck, settling down into a sleeping position. Sleep had almost taken him when Moonbay interrupted.

"Can I kiss you anytime I want?"

He couldn't help but laugh at her comment. "That's always an option." Satisfied, Irvine slipped into slumber and the Gustav slowly, but surely made it's way across the desert land. Moonbay smiled and watched the never ending horizon as she drove on.

"Vacation, here I come!"

(... ... ... END ... ... ...)

**The Final Author's Notes**

Oopsie. I apologize! Originally I had hoped to have this chapter up as soon as I got back from my vacation and look at this, I'm over 2 weeks late. (Dies) I do have reasons for this, though. I really didn't want to rush the last chapter and I always take more than a week to type a chapter. (I'm just slow like that!) I sit there and re-re-re-read over and over and before you know it, weeks go by. Well, and the fact that I went to visit family for awhile adds to the delay. I'm sorry!

Um, what else? Well, looks like my summer is coming to an end. (Sniffle) School starts within one week now. What ever am I to do? Typing time will be turned into studying time. How evil. Don't worry though, I am typing the sequel to Blackfire as we speak. (Or read...or whatever) I am, however, finishing the sequel before I post anything. That should lessen the mistakes and story line/plot mess-ups. I hope that doesn't take too long. (Falls over)

Well, that's all I have to say. Thanks again to all you people out there and until next time! -randomcat23 (Oh, yeah, please review!)


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